Eyelash Wishes
by Tw-Erdbeerchen
Summary: Post-Klaus. Elena makes a wish to get back the Damon who wasn't afraid to share his emotions and whom she seemed to have lost after their victory over Klaus...later she finds a lost boy at the side of the road. DE/Post S2/Slightly AU/M mostly for language
1. A Problem shared is a Problem halved

_**Disclaimer**: All_

_publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. belong to their respective owners. I own nothing but the plot. No copyright infringement is intended._

_A/N: So... this is my first multi-chapter FF for TVD... :) It's also my form of both occupational and self-therapy after the Season 3 finale._

_This is set roughly after Season 2, but there are a few differences... For the purpose of this story Klaus actually died in the end and there are a few other changes as well. But I'll explain them in a longer author's note at the end of this chapter (for everyone who wants to know or gets confused otherwise ;))_

_Thanks to **auTumnlove77 ** and **tsukikomew** who beta'd this chapter for me._

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**Chapter 1** -_ A Problem shared is a Problem halved_

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"Oh my gosh, girls. I can't believe it!" Caroline squealed excitedly, clinking her glass with Elena's and Bonnie's. "We're done with all of our exams and we're graduating this Saturday!" Again, a high-pitched squeak left the young vampire's lips and Bonnie couldn't help but to laugh at her friend good-naturedly. She hadn't seen her this excited in a long time.

Caroline noticed the amused expressions on both her friends' faces and – a little quieter than before – she added "What? I was really worried about that. And I didn't exactly want to have to compel any teachers, you know? Also, with Alaric being one of them…"

"Caroline," Bonnie interrupted her ramblings, still laughing. "If you ask me – compared to defeating Klaus and saving Elena from becoming the Doppelganger sacrifice, in the process of breaking the sun and the moon curse – finishing High School was a piece of cake."

"Maybe for you it was," Caroline mumbled with a little grin on her face. "I still think Klaus was a lot easier to knock out."

Elena just smiled at the exchange between her two best friends. Now, two months after they finally found a way to get rid of Klaus and all the doom and gloom – as Damon would call it – had finally left their lives, she was happy that they could actually joke about what happened back then. They all still mourned the ones they lost but it was time to go on with their lives and they deserved some much needed happiness, now that the immediate threat – the sword of Damocles over their heads – was gone.

"Well, passing the exams was definitely less dangerous and potentially lethal than fighting against an ancient vampire who's out for blood," she chimed in on their conversation and earned a nod from both of them.

Finally Caroline sighed. "I'm just glad it's all over... _all_ of it. Now we can all finally move on."

_Moving on_... that was a concept that actually kind of scared Elena right now. After all that had happened, she didn't have the feeling that she could just go off to college and forget about all of it or all of them. Because that is what she would have to do someday, probably sooner rather than later. Now that the threat was gone, it also meant that there was no need for supernatural protection in her life anymore. And there was absolutely no reason for the vampires among them to take the risk and stay in Mystic Falls.

Caroline and Stefan – whom she had broken up with long before they eventually managed to make their final stroke against Klaus – planned on leaving Mystic Falls after the summer. Since they were both turned at age 17 they couldn't stay any longer without the townspeople – who were in a large part very aware of vampires – noticing that they didn't age. Bonnie wanted to go to college somewhere in Louisiana where she had found some distant relatives of hers, who were also witches. In one year, when it was Jeremy's turn to graduate from High School, he would most likely follow her. Alaric would also stay in Mystic Falls for at least one more year, but after that... who knew what he was going to do. There was really not much left to keep him here, after Jenna had died.

And Damon... well, she didn't really know what his plans for the future where, since he hadn't talked to her about them. In fact, he didn't talk to her much anymore at all... not since Klaus had died. She was worried about him; even so much she had talked to Stefan about it several times. He thought that it was because Damon had opened up to almost all of them a little more than he usually would while they all were facing their deaths. And it was true. They all could have died at any time and the constant prospect of maybe losing someone that you love made it hard for all of them to keep their guards up around each other at all times. Damon had shown more genuine emotions than she had ever seen from him, especially around her. He had been scared, not for his own life, but for hers and that fear made him show a lot more than he was probably willing to let other people see.

And now he was withdrawing from all of them, but mostly from her. At least that was what it felt like to Elena. Sometimes it was almost like she had lost him right along with Jenna and John. And she missed him. Her friend Damon... her protector... the one person that always seemed to get her best... and infuriated her to no end. Being angry at him for some reason would be a nice distraction right about now.

"Hey, Elena!" She was roused from her thoughts by Caroline. The tone of her friend's voice made it obvious that this was not the first time that the blonde had been trying to gain her attention.

Elena shook her head in a quick movement to clear it from her previous thoughts and then looked at both her best friends with an apologetic smile. "Er... sorry, what?"

"Wow, Elena... where have you been off to?"

"Just thinking," Elena mumbled dismissively. She didn't really want to get into detail with her friends about her recent sorrows... because she was sure that that would only cause them to worry about her and she didn't want that. They all had done that enough lately to last a lifetime.

"Well, care to share what made you zone out like that? You've been miles away," said Bonnie, looking at her with a pensive and slightly concerned expression.

Elena just shrugged, trying hard to seem nonchalant about it. "Nothing important, really. Just the whole future thing." Neither Bonnie nor Caroline seemed very convinced by her explanation. The latter just raised a suspicious eyebrow as if she was trying to taunt her with it. _Seriously, Elena? _

"Really guys, I'm fine," she reinforced. "Everything is okay."

Bonnie sighed at that, making it obvious that she still didn't believe her but not pressing the matter any further. Caroline, however, was a different issue. Her expression had changed from just plainly disbelieving, to slightly anxious, uneasy and cautious.

"Elena," she began slowly, intently watching her and trying to gauge her reaction. "If this has anything to do with me and Stefan. I told you, it's not -"

"Its fine, Caroline," Elena interrupted the vampire, not wanting her to explain herself _again_. Unnecessarily. "I broke up with Stefan some time ago now... and though – at first – it might have been solely because I could not stand the thought of continuing a relationship, when I didn't even know if I would live to see the next day... it's not like that anymore." She had been giving that explanation to several people who were confused about her ongoing break up with the younger Salvatore over and over again for the last months. She was slowly but surely getting tired of repeating it all the time and so she found that it might be the time to give them a little bit more than just that.

"Over the last few months, during the whole battle against Klaus and now afterward," she took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to make them understand, "I just came to realize that Stefan and I... we aren't meant to be together. We get along with each other much better when we are only friends... nothing more. Now that I had some time to think about it, it just seems like we've been holding each other back as a couple." She lowered her voice a little. "I wasn't willing to turn for him and while I was always quite sure of that fact... being faced with the immediate prospect of dying – one way or the other – made me realize how strongly I _do not want_ _that_. Not now and probably not in next five years or so. I only just turned eighteen... and Stefan will always be stuck in his teenage years. I don't want that. And therefore our relationship was doomed. We were just stringing each other along as a couple. Whereas, as friends, it appears that we're rather complementing each other. It's just the way we are now. And I wouldn't want it any other way. Really."

Bonnie nodded slowly, finally seeming to understand her best friend, but Caroline still looked a little skeptical. Elena sighed and reached over the table for her friend's hand.

"Listen, Care. Of course I still care about Stefan. Deeply so. And I still love him, I think I will never stop doing that … but I'm loving him the way I love you... and Bonnie" She looked at Caroline reassuringly, pleading her with her eyes to believe her, to finally _understand_ and _let go_. "I love him as a friend. Nothing less and nothing more."

Caroline's gaze turned somewhat hopeful and Elena couldn't suppress the small smile appearing on her lips. "And as your friend I want you to be happy … both of you." Elena glanced over at Bonnie who now wore a knowing grin of her own. Leaning back in her seat, Elena's smile grew a little wider. "And I got the distinct feeling... you might just find that happiness with each other."

The blonde looked at her friend with shock written all over her face. She almost looked like the little five year old girl, who had been caught red-handed with her tiny fingers buried deeply in the cookie jar. "Elena, I-"

But again she was interrupted by her. "Its okay, Care," she chuckled. "And I get it... believe me, of all people _I_ do. I'm not saying that it is going to happen any time soon... I know that you're still not completely over Matt... or Tyler. And I know that Stefan's got to work out some issues of his own, not only because of me but also because of Katherine." Caroline flinched at the mention of Elena's malicious doppelganger's name. She was still highly intimidated by her. "But you two got eternity, right? And there is definitely something between the two of you. He's different with you."

And that was a fact. Stefan had always been a little different around Caroline. Less brooding and a lot more laid back. He actually seemed to loosen up around her. And that made Elena happy, as well as it caused a slight pinch of jealousy in her stomach. She had never been able to really bring out that careless, fun side of Stefan. And of course it wasn't exactly easy to consider your ex-boyfriend – of whom you once, not so long ago, thought he was the love of your life – dating one of your best friends, and her actually being the better choice for him... but then again, her other best friend was dating her brother, so how much more awkward could it get, really? And not to forget that Caroline had also been dating Matt, who was her ex-boyfriend, too. Elena was more than used to having _awkward_ relationships going on around her.

"Well," Caroline began slowly and, finally, she started cheering up again, smiling brightly. "If you're really okay with it … I mean he _can_ be kind of cute." And with that the tension at their table was lifted for the time being, as they all broke out in a fit of very girly giggles.

They chattered about all sorts of silly things, exchanging the latest gossip and just enjoying the fact that they could finally laugh again. Being carefree without feeling bad about it was wonderful. The next instant was downright liberating and it was in these newfound moments that Elena could finally feel like an 18-year-old teenager again, like the weight of the world didn't rest solely on her shoulders.

But even now there was still a slight feeling of uneasiness left inside her. Her sorrows from earlier didn't just vanish into thin air just because she was feeling like the person she had once been again, even if only for a short amount of time. She wasn't that girl anymore. Her parents were still dead, all four of them; she still lost Jenna and Klaus had still happened … and her future was as unpredictable as Damon's constant mood swings, notwithstanding.

If only she could talk to him again like she did a few months ago. Sometimes she almost wished Klaus hadn't died yet. At least then her life would still have a perspective – even if it just was surviving the next day – and she wouldn't have to face the possibility of losing everyone she cared about, if not for good then at least for probably a long time. She wouldn't feel so _lost_ all the time.

But deep inside she knew the mere thought was utterly stupid. Klaus was dead and it was for the better. Because, if she was true to herself, she hadn't felt much different back then. She hadn't known what her future would've been like, either. And the uncertainty had been killing her, as much as it was now. There had just been bigger things to worry about … that was it.

"You know what," she was once again stirred from her thoughts, but this time it was Bonnie's voice which brought her back from the depths of her own mind. "You're our friend, too, Lena. And that means that we want to see you happy as much as you want to see us that way." She paused and looked at her friend with a skeptical, emphatic look on her face. "So will _you_ tell us what's been bothering you lately?"

"Nothing, I'm..."

"And don't even try to tell us your fine, because you're not, Elena," the witch interrupted her forcefully. "Everyone can see that."

Elena opened her mouth, trying to protest once again but she didn't get the chance to speak before Caroline chimed in. "Bonnie's right. Something's going on, Elena. For god's sake, Klaus is dead, Katherine's gone and your life is no longer at stake... but you still look as miserable as sin. So what's wrong?"

"And if you're not going to tell us soon, girl, I'm going to have Caroline compel you, just so you know," Bonnie added, only half joking, judging from the serious look on her face.

Elena sighed, knowing that she was fighting a lost battle against her two best friends and that it was probably time for her to surrender. "Fine, I'll talk."

The vampire and the witch exchanged a quick glance and a slightly smug expression took over their features.

"I'm scared," Elena started tentatively, not exactly sure how to voice her worries to make her friends understand. "I'm scared of... that uncertainty that my life's been lately. It's like I fought all those obstacles in my life and tried so hard to evade and clear away every danger I have been faced with over the last years... that now, that they're finally all gone, I don't really know what exactly I want to do with my life anymore. I've been so occupied with everything that's been going on... I didn't even think about stuff like College, moving away, maybe finding a job … I simply don't know what to do, now." She took a deep breath. "Most of the people that are truly important to me are part of the supernatural world I stumbled into somehow. So I can't exactly escape that, not that I even want to. But that also means that I'm going to lose most of those people rather soon... I just keep losing them... because you guys can't stay in one place for too long. Caroline, you're going to leave with Stefan and even though we said that we would stay in touch, it might be years, if not decades until we see each other again. You are going to go to Louisiana, Bonnie and I know you're dating my brother so we definitely going to stay in touch, but you're still going to be away for some time. Next year, when Jeremy's out of High School, he's going to go live with you and... he's the only family I have left. Ric probably won't stay here either. Matt just disappeared without a trace and Damon... hell if I know what he's going to do. But it's not like it actually matters because he's avoiding me anyway, so..." Elena noticed that – without being aware of it – she had talked herself into a rage and by the end of her little speech she had almost been screaming, which attracted a few disapproving glances from the people sitting at the tables around them.

She let out an exasperated breath and tried to sink a little deeper into their booth as she took a large gulp of the drink in front of her, trying to calm herself.

"Well that was one enthusiastic speech, woman," Caroline laughed a little uneasily, trying to lighten the mood. Elena forced a small smile and Caroline's face grew serious once again. "Lena... why haven't you said something to us earlier?"

"Yeah," Bonnie agreed. "We could have talked about that... we could have helped you."

"And how exactly would you do that? How would you help me with something like this?" Elena asked incredulously. "It's not like you could change anything about it."

"Well, maybe we can't change it," Caroline admitted. "But we still could have helped you dealing with it. Trust me, if I learned one thing in life it is that a problem shared is a problem halved." She smiled softly at her best friend. "And you're not the only one worrying about your future."

Elena's eyes narrowed slightly and she looked at Caroline in wonder.

"Of course we're scared, too," Bonnie explained. "I might know the general direction in which I want my future to go, but that doesn't mean I have it all planned out. Moving to Louisiana, that's a big step for me, Elena. And leaving Jeremy behind was not exactly an easy decision to make. Especially after everything that happened with Klaus. Jeremy almost died..._ I_ almost died and that knowledge still terrifies me to no end. But I also know that I have to let go of that fear if I ever want to move on." She sighed. "It's hard... but I'll learn to be okay with it."

"I didn't know," Elena mumbled silently. It was true; she had no idea of how... troubled Bonnie truly was. Of course she knew that they all still lived with the shadows and the aftermath of Klaus' ferocity. But none of them ever talked about it. They were all so determined to get their lives back to normal that nobody wanted to be reminded of what happened only about two months ago.

Bonnie just shrugged and smiled slightly, letting her know that it was okay. "We all have our demons, Elena. We might not always share them with the world, but that doesn't mean they're not there."

"Right," Caroline remarked. "I mean, look at my future. It's _eternal_... so there's more than enough room to fit tons of worries in there. And I'm probably going to spend the best part of it with the master of brooding himself," she winked at Elena, who couldn't help but chuckle slightly at that.

Caroline had undoubtedly changed a lot since she had been turned into a vampire, but she was still the most cheerful of their group; the one who could make jokes about almost everything and chase away every dark mood.

"It's not like I know what I'm going to do with all of my time. I know I have to leave Mystic Falls, but that's about it. Even though my mom knows about vampires now and actually seems to be coming to terms with what I am... after I leave with Stefan I'll most likely hardly ever see her again. I'm diving in headfirst as much as you do, Elena. And I'm a little scared, too," the blonde admitted truthfully, still as small smile on her face. "I'm just trying to see it all as some sort of great adventure..."

"Not that we haven't had enough of those already," Bonnie mumbled silently. And that did it...

For a few seconds they all just looked at each other, and then broke out in silent giggles which turned into laughter soon afterward.

"To great adventures," Caroline exclaimed and held her glass high over the table.

"To girl talks," Bonnie chimed in, also lifting her drink.

"To moving on," Elena announced last and – for the second time today – they all clinked their glasses.

As they were leaving the Grill about an hour later, she knew for a fact that her friends had been right. A problem shared was indeed a problem halved. And it seemed that in terms of dealing with her own current worries talking was really doing the trick. So she decided that that was exactly what she was going to do. She would talk to them, all of them. Every single person that she cared about and that she had some sort of unsettled issue with right now. And that were at least a few people. There was Stefan, of course, Jeremy, Damon, Alaric... maybe she'd even try to find a way to contact Katherine.

"I think I know what I'm going to do now," she announced to Bonnie, who was sitting in the passenger's seat next to her in the car. Since her friend had come to the Grill with Caroline – who had made the last-minute decision to make a quick visit to the local blood bank – Elena had offered to drop Bonnie off on her way home.

"And what's that?"

"I'm going to talk to everyone I still need to talk to before I can decide what's going to happen next." She glanced at her friend briefly to see her smiling at her.

"That sounds like a good plan to me."

"I hope it is..."

She would go step by step... and to get it over with, she would start with probably the hardest talk of all of them; the one where she wasn't even sure if she could get him to actually _talk _to her. She sighed.

"Hey, don't worry... everything will turn out all right," Bonnie reassured her as they pulled up in front of her house. Elena gave her a tight hug, thanking her again. "You're more than welcome, Elena." she said as she pulled back, a smile on her face. "And for what it is worth-" Elena watched curiously as Bonnie slowly reached for her cheek, lightly touching the skin under her eye, before pulling her hand back again.

She looked down at her best friend's outstretched finger, to find one of her eyelashes laying at the tip of it. As her eyes met Bonnie's again, she had an incredulous expression on her face.

"Really, Bon?" she laughed. "Wishing on an eyelash? The last time I did this I wasn't even in high school yet. Not like it even works."

Bonnie just shrugged. "It won't do any harm either, if you do."

She looked at the small, black eyelash again skeptically before she finally reached for it tentatively.

"Fine," she mumbled. "No harm."

As she thought about what she was going to wish for – though she still didn't believe it would actually work, it _never_ did – she decided that she might just go with something that would make her first task at hand a lot easier. If she wanted to talk to Damon, she would have to get him to talk first. And for that to happen she needed him to be the way he had been two months ago again.

_I want the old Damon back_, she thought as she slowly closed her eyes and blew at the little piece of dark hair on her fingertip. _The one without all the defenses._

"Happy now?" she asked Bonnie slightly exasperated.

"I'm fine," was all her friend said, a smug grin on her face, before she left the car. "See you," she called before she shut the door and walked up to her house.

Elena just shook her head. _Eyelash wishes... _

As she left Bonnie's she decided that – instead of going home – she would head straight to the Salvatore mansion.

She might as well get it over with.

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_Soo... what do you think so far? Not much has happened, yet... but that will change in the next chapter, which I'll upload next week. If I can hold back that long... :)_

_You'll get to meet Damon... in more than just one way ;) _

_Please let me know what you think! 3_

_Oh, and if you want to get a little teaser, just take a look at the banner(s) I made for this story ;) They are on my **LJ. (ms-brightside13)**_

_**Twitter: TwErdbeerchen**_

_As for the promised a/n:_

_I started plotting and writing this story in the hiatus before ep2x17 (Know Thy Enemy). So when the show came back a lot of things happened that didn't work with what I had already written or planned in my mind. I decided to change what I could (and it hurt to kill Jenna -.-) but a few changes still remained.  
- Damon never actually got bitten by a werewolf (there is no cure after all, if Klaus is dead), however, he still force-fed Elena his blood._

_- Jeremy wasn't shot by Sheriff Forbes, as Damon never got delusional. For the sake of this story, when Caroline found out that her mom knew about vampires, she lifted the compulsion and made Liz realize what she already did earlier in the season._

_- this also means that Jeremy cannot communicate with ghosts in this story._

_- As you read in this chapter, Elena broke up with Stefan before they were able to defeat Klaus. Also, since Klaus is dead and Damon never got bitten, Stefan never fell off the wagon either :)_

_I think, that's about it. If anything else comes up, it'll probably be explained in the story._


	2. Not as right as Rain

_Big thanks to all the people who faved/added and left me some feedback for the first chapter._

_Also, thank you **auTumnlove77** and **tsukikomew**for beta-reading :)_

Now, let's meet Damon, all right?

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Chapter 2 - _Not as right as rain_

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When she arrived at the Boarding House, Elena's prior determination had already faltered a little bit. She couldn't help but think about her former, feeble attempts of trying to have something you can't even remotely qualify as a conversation with Damon and how terrible that had worked for her... or better yet, hadn't worked.

He had been evasive at best, completely offensive or just ignoring her altogether. It was even harder now to get some genuine emotions from him than when he first came to Mystic Falls. Elena kept trying so hard to get through to him, but to no avail so far. Yet, she refused to give up hope... to lose faith in Damon.

They had made it through worse than this; their relationship had so much emotional baggage as if _she_ had known him since 1864, not for barely two years. But still, somehow they always pulled through. Their friendship had survived and overcome so many things, so many mistakes they both made, so many selfish and hurtful things they had done and said to each other. But in the end they had always made it. She couldn't just give up on him.

During their battle against Klaus, Elena hard learned – the hard way – that Damon would do everything, without exception, to save her. He would stop at nothing and was willing to risk each and everything in order to keep her alive; _even_ their friendship and her affection. And now it was Elena's turn to do the same for him.

She would save him. The Damon she knew he was, or at least could be again.

She would willingly sacrifice a whole lot of things; her pride, dignity and even her last reservations towards him that she never totally got rid of. Elena knew that it would be hard, but she could do it... _had to do it_ to get her friend back. That was all she cared about. She only needed to get him to talk to her first.

As she reached the door Elena hesitated for a brief moment. She took a deep breath, trying to revive some of her former determined conviction and prepare herself for whatever was going to await her inside. It took her a few seconds until she finally reached out to use the ancient door knocker.

Her hand – however – stopped mid-air before she even had the chance to knock, as the door suddenly opened and Stefan appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, Elena," he greeted her, only half surprised about seeing her outside their house, since he had probably heard her approach. "Aren't you supposed to be at the Grill with Bonnie and Caroline? I thought you three were going to celebrate the end of High School." He had a slightly amused smile on his face, most likely due to the fact that – even though it was his first time graduating, too – it didn't mean quite that much to him, since he did only go there for about two years and it was possibly not the last time he did.

"Well... for some people graduating High School is and always will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience," she pointed out with a raised eyebrow and a grin on her own.

"Oh, I'm not so sure if I will expose myself to the tremendous importance of High School dances, exams and fund raisers ever again," he joked in a highly sarcastic manner she had rarely seen, while they were still dating. His new facetious behavior almost reminded her a little bit of Damon, when he was in a good mood.

She let out a sigh, suddenly remembering why she came here and that her upcoming conversation would not nearly be as relaxed and easy-going as this one.

Seeing the sudden shift in Elena's previously blithe behavior also brought it to his mind again, that she in all likelihood came here for a reason. And given the way her body seemed to tense a little bit also provided him with a good idea, of what, or rather who she was here for.

"So," he began to ask her, "why _are_ you not at the Grill right now?"

"We already met," Elena explained with a tiny shrug, trying to loosen her tense shoulders a little bit. "I just dropped Bonnie off at home and decided to come here. Bad time?"

Surprisingly, Stefan hesitated for a few seconds, before he finally shook his head. "No... I guess it's fine." He stepped back a little bit, extending one arm in an inviting manner. "Come on in."

Elena walked past him into the parlor of the Boarding House, dropping both her purse and the thin cardigan she'd been wearing on the side unceremoniously. Turning around again, she found that Stefan was still standing next to the open door. He looked rather uncomfortable, his right hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Though I probably should tell you, I was just about to leave. To go hunting," he admitted. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she shrugged.

"I mean, I could stay, if you wanted," he offered however, albeit grudgingly. "I can just go some other time." The tone of his voice made it clear that he rather wanted to stick to his original plan... but he would stay without complaint, nevertheless, if Elena asked him to. That was Stefan for you.

She smiled thankfully at him, but declined. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine. I wouldn't want you to skip dinner on my account," she said smiling. "I actually came here because I wanted to talk to Damon."

"Oh," Stefan grimaced slightly. "Good luck with that. He's been in an exceptional bad mood so far today."

Before Elena could answer anything to that, she was interrupted by a loud voice, coming from the direction of the study.

"I heard that Stefan," Damon sang cynically and Elena noticed that he – indeed – didn't seem to be in the best mood for what she was planning to do. Also, his exaggeratedly chipper intonation indicated that he most likely had been drinking. "You know, it's rude to talk about others behind their backs."

Stefan barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes and cast a reassuring glance at Elena instead.

"Don't worry, I can cope with him," she said more optimistically than she felt, but the look on her face belied her every word.

"Are you sure? I mean, I could stay nearby if you wanted me to."

Elena shook her head, about to tell Stefan again that it was not necessary because Damon wouldn't do anything – at least not physically. But yet again she was interrupted by the latter's taunting voice.

"Don't carve another frown line into your forehead, Stefan. It's getting crowded up there. Elena obviously put on her big girl panties this morning. She can handle the big, bad vampire."

This time Stefan couldn't quite conceal his annoyance and muttered something under his breath, too quiet for Elena to understand.

Meanwhile, she had a hard enough time keeping up the last bits of her former determination and courage. She knew that if she wouldn't actually start putting her mission into action anytime soon, she most likely wouldn't go through with it at all.

"He's right," she started and raised her voice a little bit to make sure that Damon knew it was actually directed at him, not at Stefan. "I can handle his erratic, moody ass!"

They heard a silent grumble from Damon and Stefan couldn't help the small smile that suddenly appeared on his face.

"Okay, I see you got this," he admitted. "Still, if you need anything..."

"I won't hesitate to call you," she completed, rolling her eyes. "I've got it, Stefan."

With one last reassuring smile Stefan finally went out the door, letting it shut behind him. The dull thud was unnaturally loud in Elena's ears as she stood alone in the eerie silence of the parlor. For a few seconds she just kept standing there, unmoving, trying to find her inner strength and vigor again. She took a deep breath to steady herself, letting it out with a sigh, before she started making her way towards the study.

It's now or never.

As she reached the doorway to the large room she found Damon exactly the way she expected. He was standing next to the sideboard that held all his precious bottles of expensive alcohol, pouring himself a glass of what she assumed could only be Bourbon or Scotch.

She knew he had definitely heard her approach but obviously he decided not to acknowledge her presence. Elena debated for exactly twelve seconds if she should act as hard-headed and premature as he did and wait stubbornly until he would give in and say something to her first or if she should do the grown-up thing to do and just start the conversation herself.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Damon..."

"Elena," he mocked, still not looking at her, his eyes firmly fixed on the golden liquid in his tumbler.

She shook her head over his riposte, trying to calm herself down and not react to his childish behavior. Because that was exactly what he wanted her to do. He was trying to distract her from whatever she originally came here for; it was by far not the first attempt. And – much to Elena's regret – she had to admit that he has actually succeeded a few times in the past. But not today. Not anymore.

"Listen, Damon," she started with the most resolute voice she could muster up. "I came here to talk to you... and I'm not going to back down and leave you alone this time. Not before I get what I want from you." She tried to sound fierce and relentless but the way Damon tauntingly raised his eyebrow as he finally turned around did nothing to encourage her. He wasn't the slightest bit impressed of her small speech, but rather amused by it. Elena fought hard to not let him see the true extend of her insecurity.

"We can either do that the easy or the hard way, Damon. Though I'd much prefer the easy one."

He briefly grinned at her, before the corners of his mouth pulled down into a fake pout, mischief sparkling in his blue eyes. "Oh, but the hard way is so much more _fun_, Elena," he slurred, making his voice sound a bit more drunk than he actually was.

She refused to react to his comment, proving her point and making him see that _this time_ she would not let him get to her. She knew that his aloof and indifferent behavior was a facade, a wall he built around himself to keep other people out and push them away if they were getting to close. But she wouldn't put up with that anymore. She would make him face whatever he was hiding from. Even if he had to hurt in order to do it – if _she_ would hurt him in the process – then so be it. She would do what she had to do and if anyone should understand that, then it was him.

She'd even let him hate her for it. But at the end of the day, she would be the one to save him... at least that's what she liked to believe; what she hoped would happen.

She _wanted_ to be the one.

Knowing Damon, it would not do her purpose any good if she tried to fight him at his own game right now. As much as she was tempted to, she would not give in. Of course it was always the easy thing to do, to give in to their constant bickering and bantering. But right now that wouldn't work. She _had_ to choose the hard way.

So she just crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited for him to eventually come around and to get over his immature evasiveness.

By the look on her face, Damon probably should have been glad that she wasn't a witch, otherwise a few blood vessels in his brain would surely have popped due to a very painful, magically caused aneurism. _If looks could kill..._

"Fine," he sighed exasperatedly. "What do you want from me, Elena?"

For a short moment Elena was a little taken aback that she actually got this far... for him to give in to a conversation. And that it hadn't taken her hours, like she almost expected.

But she also knew that she was still miles away from calling this a victory and she didn't dare to get her hopes up just yet. _Baby steps, Elena … Baby steps_.

"I want to talk you, Damon. I want _you_ to talk to _me_," she said honestly. "It feels like I hardly know you anymore." She wished that the sadness about that fact wouldn't have been so obviously detectable in her voice. "I want to know what you're up to these days. What's going on in your life... and in your head; what your plans are! How _you_ are."

For a brief second she thought she saw a flash of... _something_ in his, other than that, unreadable eyes. But it was gone so fast that it might as well just have been wishful thinking.

"Why, _mommy_," Damon drawled in his usual, slightly cynical voice; effectively making Elena believe that she was indeed just imagining things before, "I'm just _peachy_. How else would I be? The ancient bad-ass vampire slash werewolf is dead, the curse is broken, Elijah and Katherine left town and all's well in Mystic Falls again. The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting and everyone is just painfully happy these days. So why wouldn't_ I_ be?" He grinned at her, a provocative glimmer in his eyes, and lifted his glass to his lips. "Here's to '_happily ever after'._"

Slowly but surely Elena could feel her patience slipping away, giving way to annoyance instead. Why did he always have to do that? Why did he always have to be so infuriating?

"Well – excuse me, Damon – but you don't exactly strike me as the epitome of happiness these days," she all but spit at him, taking a step forward. "You can stop pretending."

"You don't think I'm happy?" he asked her with fake astonishment, stepping a little closer as well. He seemed thoroughly unfazed by her flaring temper.

"No, I don't."

"Well... that's just too bad." And with that he emptied his tumbler before he turned around and went back to the drinking cart to get a refill.

"Come on, Damon, cut the crap! Even a blind _and_ deaf could tell that you're in an exceptionally foul mood lately. You're pissed off and upset attitude is practically radiating off of you."

"Oh, but I don't get _upset_ anymore, Elena," he said, facing her again. "Haven't you heard? Damon Salvatore's gone soft and cuddly. I'm all good, no bad these days. I even think about adopting a puppy." He grinned at her again and she couldn't deny that the prominent hint of madness in his eyes was giving her the chills. He was on edge... and she was obviously pushing him, without even noticing it. But all of a sudden he seemed livid. "So don't tell me I'm _upset_... or _pissed_. I'm a happy-go-lucky ray of fucking sunshine," he spat at her.

Elena took a huge breath trough her nose, willing herself to calm down. As she slowly pushed the inhaled air out of her lungs she was hit by the realization that it wasn't fury that made her heart beat faster, her hands clench into fists and her eyebrows knit together. She wasn't furious, no, she was... irritated and not so much at Damon's behavior itself, but because she didn't know exactly what the cause for it was.

He's always been a little edgy; being exceedingly sarcastic and emotionally erratic really weren't new character traits of him at all. But lately there was this bitterness again she hadn't seen in him for a long time. And she found it increasingly hard to believe that it was just because he had succumbed to the emotional burden of the impending doom that had been _Klaus and the breaking of the course_ like they all had and shown a little bit too much of his true self in the process. It might be a big part of it... but it wasn't all.

"So... now that we discussed the issue of my – obviously brilliant – well being, is there anything else you'd like to talk about today?" asked Damon, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor.

"Damon... don't do that." The words left her mouth before she had even consciously thought them.

"Don't do what?"

"Don't pretend to be that uncaring, impervious jerk, because we both know that you're not. You're quite far from that actually... and I wish you wouldn't feel the need to make everyone believe something else." Bravely she took one step closer to him again, ignoring the way his body tensed immediately and how everything – from his tense jar, to his clenched fists and the blazing fire in his steal-blue eyes – screamed defense and danger at her. "What the hell are you scared of, Damon? It's not like the whole world is out to hurt and betray you the minute you let your guard down."

"What do you want to hear, Elena?" he asked with a frighteningly low voice. "We had this conversation before, remember? I'm not hiding from anything... I _feel_ and it _sucks_. And that's all there is to it. What do you want me to say... that I was a little too sentimental during that whole Klaus-curse-thing and that I kind of wish everyone would just forget about it and start despising or fearing me again like they did before? Well, _yes_, I do. But it's not like you haven't already figured that out all on your own in that pretty little head of yours, or am I wrong?" During his rant he had involuntarily moved closer to her so that he was towering over her tiny frame now.

Elena just stared up at him with wide eyes, literally lost for words. She wasn't sure what she should say to that... what she could say. He had been – surprisingly – honest and hit right home with his remark about her already knowing all those things... so, indeed, what was there left to say?

"It's not like it changes anything." The former fury in his voice was now gone and instead it sounded almost resigning to her now. "The past stays the same and whatever result it had on the present does as well. I'm not the talking type, you should know that."

"You were," she admitted, her own voice barely above a whisper. "Just a few months ago. We used to be able to talk. About everything and nothing."

Now it was Damon's turn to sigh. "Well that was then, but now it's over." He emptied his tumbler with one big gulp and put it down. "You better start reconciling yourself to that."

And with that he walked past her, leaving her alone in the study without giving her the chance to say something in return.

Elena's emotions were all over the place. Part of her wanted to run after him and yell at him to stop acting like he didn't care, another part wanted to slap him and yet another wanted to beg him to be _that_ person again. But her feet wouldn't move an inch. She was like paralyzed as she still tried to figure out what she should do now. How she felt about what had just happened. She was torn between screaming, crying or smashing something... and somewhere deep inside she just wished to be able to walk out the door as if _she_ didn't care. Just leave like it was no big deal, with an indifferent shrug of her shoulders and give him a taste of his own medicine.

But she wasn't that person... that would be to _Katherine_ and Damon wouldn't buy it anyway. If he'd even notice, since she wasn't sure where he had gone.

It took her a few moments to regain control of her bodily functions again and convince her feet to move. She walked out of the study, hurt and disappointment visibly edged on her features, her shoulders slumped in resignation. As she walked past the grand staircase she halted for a second, debating if she should go upstairs to his room and see if he was there. But what good would it be? He made it more than clear that he didn't want to talk to her. Not right now and maybe not ever. So she continued her way to the front door instead, picking up her purse and cardigan on the way.

As she left the house she felt rain pouring down on her and almost laughed at the pathetic irony that was her life right at this moment. _How cliche_, she thought as she picked up her pace, almost running to her car so she wouldn't get too wet. When she finally slit into the driver's seat of her car, Elena merely allowed herself a few seconds to catch her breath and compose herself before she plunged the key into the ignition and turned it, her movements agitated and hurried. Right now she just wanted to get away.

She left the Salvatore property and drove down the familiar street, without paying attention to her surroundings. She could only assume that she was indeed on her way home, as she seemed to act barely on instinct. She didn't feel like she wanted to cry anymore... not even scream. All she really felt was numb... as if someone had just confirmed something she secretly knew all along and had already started coming to terms with. And, frankly, who had she thought she was kidding anyway... did she really expect that Damon – former _"self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities"_, now_ "at odds with his humanity, to feel or not to feel"_-Damon – would do a complete 180 and become a totally different person? Would she even want that?

He had proved more than just once – with words as well as with his actions – that he would go out on a limb and do everything to keep her safe and alive. But at the same time he also repeatedly made it clear that he didn't care much about anything _but_ her. His brotherly bond to Stefan might not be totally broken and there certainly was this strange bromance he had going on with Ric... but at the end of the day, he would always choose her life over theirs. He would _die_ and _kill_ for her. Anyone.

Elena still didn't know if she should feel flattered about that fact, or just be terrified of it. But right now it helped her realizing something she should probably have seen a long time ago. Just because Damon could be utterly _pleasant_ around her if he wanted to, didn't mean that he was _that_ person. He had lost his carelessness and some of his sociability somewhere along the way and it would take a lot more than just her to bring it back – she still refused to believe that it was lost for good.

She was about half a mile away from Wickery Bridge when something on the side of the rode surprisingly caught her attention and pulled her out of her inner musings.

Elena almost missed the little boy, sitting under one of the large trees to her right, obviously seeking protection from the rain. She wasn't exactly sure why and how she _did_ notice him, as preoccupied with her thoughts as she was. But when she cast a quick, habitual look into her rearview mirror he was there, catching her eye as if he was wearing a bright orange rain suit instead of his – probably drenched – faded brown and white clothes.

She instantly pulled over to the side of the road and was out of her car in a matter of seconds, not really bothering about the rain. She wondered what that boy was probably doing here, since there wasn't anything around but forest for a few miles. From what Elena knew, the Salvatore House was the closest building from where they were right now.

As she got closer to the boy she could see that he was shivering as he was, indeed, completely soaked. He was sitting against a tree trunk, legs pulled towards his chest and his arms firmly wrapped around them. His head was bowed towards the ground and his dark, wet hair was glued to his forehead.

"Hey... are you okay?" Elena asked softly when she reached the tree. His head shot up at her words, big, blue eyes staring up at her in a mixture of relieve and fear. She slowly crouched down beside him, not wanting to scare him if she made any sudden movements. "Are you hurt?"

Timidly, he shook his head, still not saying anything. He seemed lost and Elena knew, just by the look in his eyes, that there was probably no point in asking him how he got there. Also, even though he looked striking familiar to her, she was almost sure that he didn't live in Mystic Falls. It was a small town, were everyone knew everyone and the news of new people moving here always spread like wildfire. No, he wasn't from Mystic Falls, that much was for sure.

Seeing as the little boy in front of her kept shivering, she shrugged out of her cardigan and carefully wrapped it around his shoulders instead. She knew that it didn't help much, since the fabric was thin and already wet, too. But it surely was better than nothing.

"Are your parents here on vacation?" she continued to ask him. Trying to figure out what brought him here. But again, he only shook his head mutely and continued to stare up at her.

"Do you know where your parents went? Where they are... or where they live?" His answer didn't change but now she could see tears welling up in his eyes, running down his flushed pink cheeks and mixing with the rain.

She shook her head, willing to keep her own emotions in check as she watched the little, broken boy in front of her. She had to think rational now. "We should probably get you somewhere warm and dry first, before we figure out what to do with you." She said more to herself than to him. "Do you remember anything what happened to you?"

"No, Ma'am." Elena was taken aback by his quiet voice for a second, as it was the first time he actually used it to answer her.

Elena sighed. What if he had a concussion or something like that which caused him to lose his memory? Maybe he got lost in the forest, fell and hit his head? She hoped not and she could hear her voice shaking with trepidation as she asked him the next question.

"Can you tell me your name?"

To say his answer pulled the proverbial rug out from under her feet would be a slight understatement. It was not the answer she originally feared, but in its own way it was probably far worse than that. For the second time today she fell like she subconsciously saw it coming... like she should have guessed it all along. But it still knocked the air out of her lungs as his quiet voice reached her ears over the incessant pouring of the rain.

"D-Damon, Ma'am."

* * *

_Aaaand... the plot thickens ;)_

_**Reviews are better than Damon adopting a puppy!**_

_Also, I will keep up with what I started last week: everyone who takes the time to push that little blue button gets a** teaser for the next chapter**._

_My LJ: ms-brightside13_

_Follow me on twitter: TwErdbeerchen_


	3. Oh Boy!

_Wow... I'm seriously blown away by all the positive feedback you guys gave me so far. I have to admit... after posting the first chapter I was a little worried. I don't think my summary is all that great and the first chapter isn't that exciting either, so I was scared people wouldn't see any potential in this... Well, I'm glad you seem to think otherwise :) Thank You!_

_Also: big thanks to my beta, **tsukikomew**._

_There have been a lot of theories about what might have happened with Damon... well, let's see for ourselves, shall we?_

* * *

Chapter 3 - _Oh Boy!_

* * *

About forty minutes later, both Elena and little Damon were sitting in the parlor of the boarding house, waiting for Stefan to come home. She had called him as soon as they had reached the house – which they had found empty just like she had expected – and he had promised to be there as soon as possible. She had tried to call Damon too, but his phone just went straight to voice mail.

Although she was pretty sure that her assumptions regarding the little boy, who was now sitting in front the fireplace, were right, she hadn't told Stefan about any of them yet. All he knew so far was she needed help with something that came up on her way home. Stefan, of course, immediately asked if something had happened with Damon... and Elena really didn't know how to answer that question honestly. If what she thought was going on here was somehow – as weird as it seemed – right... then, yeah, what happened definitely had to do with his brother.

For what felt like the thousandth time she glanced at the little boy in bewilderment. _Could it be... could he really be...?_

"Damon?" she asked silently, _his_ name feeling strange on her lips when directed at this little, fragile person.

Big blues eyes innocently looked up to her. "Yes, Ma'am?"

"Have you tried your hot chocolate?" She nodded towards the cup he held between his tiny hands, which were sticking out from the huge pile of blankets Elena had wrapped him in.

"No, Ma'am," he replied politely, shaking his head.

"You should. It will warm you up from the inside... and it tastes really good."

"Okay, Ma'am."

Elena laughed lightly. "You can stop calling me _Ma'am_ by the way. I'm Elena."

"As you wish, Ma … uhm … Elena," he muttered shyly, a deep blush rising up in his cheeks. He slowly lifted the cup to his lips and took a tentative sip of the warm drink. "That tastes really good."

"I told you so." She smiled at him and received the first smile from... Damon in return. She could see small dimples in his cheeks, which – if possible – blushed even deeper. There was only one way to describe him: adorably cute.

"Uhm... Miss Elena?" he began a little nervously.

"Just Elena," she corrected him softly, not wanting him to feel like he had to be so formal around her.

Damon nodded. "Elena... may I ask you something?"

"Well, of course you may. What do you want to know?"

"Is this your house?"

"No, it actually belongs to a friend of mine... _two_ friends of mine." Well, _technically_, the deed was still in _her_ name... but she never really considered the boarding house her's; even during the time she had lived in it. It was still the _Salvatore_ Boarding House after all.

"And they won't be angry we just went inside... without permission?" He seemed a little nervous, as if he was scared to get in trouble.

"Don't worry, they don't mind. I have permission to come and go whenever I want..." She could see that he looked still a little nervous. "And I can bring whomever I want."

"Okay."

They fell silent once more and Elena returned to her previous task of just watching the little boy. She tried to be discreet about it, not wanting him to be uncomfortable, since he already seemed to have a hard time relaxing. Since she had picked him up from the street and put him in the backseat of her car his eyes had barely stopped moving, eager to take everything in that was going on around him. It seemed like he was both anxious and curios, intimidated and astonished at the same time.

He had calmed down gradually since they arrived at the house. Elena still had some of her clothes in the boarding house, due to her spontaneous sleepovers and so she had gotten him out of his wet clothes the minute they arrived and dressed him into one of her shirts and a pair of shorts instead. The clothes didn't really fit him of course, but they were still a hundred times better than Stefan's… or Damon's.

Although they had barely talked while Elena was busy rubbing him dry with one of the fluffy white towels, they still seemed to have bonded a little bit during that time, since she noticed that he appeared to be more relaxed around her afterward. He even seemed to be a little uneasy when she told him that she would go upstairs again to change out of her own wet clothes, after she had him settled in front of the fire place.

At this moment she could hear a car pulling up the drive way of the Salvatore house and judging by the way Damon's eyes immediately darted to the front door he had heard it to.

"That's just one of my friends," Elena instantly reassured him as she got up from the couch and made her way to the front door.

Stefan was running towards her as she stepped outside.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked when he came to a stop in front of her. "You said it was nothing serious, but you sounded worried on the phone?"

"It is nothing serious... well, at least nothing _deadly_ serious," she admitted hesitatingly. "Though, if what I think is right, we might have a little... _issue_."

"Elena, I'm sorry but I don't really understand a word of what you're trying to tell me... did something happen with Damon?"

Elena bit her bottom lip, still not sure what the true answer to that question was. "Sort of... I think."

"Okay, what is going on? I can't..."

He stopped mid-sentence as he was interrupted by a quiet voice calling for Elena from inside of the house.

"Who is with you?" Stefan asked slightly perplexed. "Is that... a child?"

Elena nodded. "I found him on my way home sitting on the side of the road. He was completely drenched and didn't know where he was or where he came from," she explained, only partially erasing the puzzled look from Stefan's face. "I brought him here because it was closer."

"Well, I see why you would do that. But I still don't understand what this has_ sort of_ to do with my brother." He looked somewhat worried and Elena knew that he was wondering how Damon fit into all of this.

"I guess you should see for yourself... _if_ it has anything to do with him." And with that she pushed open the front door and went back inside the house, Stefan following close behind her.

At first he was just scanning the parlor somewhat expectantly, but as soon as his eyes fell in the little figure who was still sitting in front of the fire place, wrapped up in the huge pile of blankets, Stefan's face instantly lost all its composure and became a mask of utter shock and disbelieve.

The little boy returned his gaze with equal confusion, not knowing why the strange man was staring at him like that. _Was he angry? _

Elena was about to say something, as his previous uneasiness seemed to return, when Stefan obviously found his voice again.

"Damon?" he asked in what could only be described as a raspy whisper.

Elena let out the breath she had been holding while she waited for Stefan's reaction as he confirmed all her assumptions with just one word.

* * *

_How was this even possible?_

"This can't be true." Right after Stefan had realized who was sitting in his parlor he had started pacing, trying to grasp what was happening right in front of him and talking more with himself than anyone else in the room. "How can he... he can't..."

Damon and Elena just watched him in silence, the little boy still visibly uncomfortable in his presence. Elena was torn between whom to calm down first and so she just decided to remain in place and wait for Stefan to say something else.

"How did this happen, Elena? How can... how can _he_ be here?"

"I don't know, Stefan... I really don't," she admitted truthfully. "But... it is him, isn't it? I mean, _all of this_ can't be a coincidence, right?"

Stefan knew exactly what she meant with 'all of this'... the resemblance between their Damon and the one that was currently sitting on his couch was just too strong. The raven hair, his blue eyes... _his name_.

And above all – even after over 160 years and though he might have been awfully young – he would always recognize his _brother_. The curious, impatient and kindhearted little boy he grew up with.

He slowly turned towards him again, looking at the same face he remembered from his early childhood, just slightly younger, and couldn't help but shake his head. "I'm sure it's him." The words were directed towards Elena, but his eyes didn't move an inch.

Damon was obviously uneasy under Stefan's intense stare and slowly his growing curiosity got the better of him, outweighing even his initial shyness.

"Sir?" he asked, his words directed towards Stefan. "How do you know my name?"

For a moment Stefan seemed to be taken aback, just by hearing his voice. A bold line appeared between his eyebrows as he was obviously trying to find an answer to the little boy's question.

"We, uhm … we met before," he explained tentatively. "It was a long time ago, so you probably don't remember me. I'm a... distant cousin of yours."

The little boy nodded slowly, his eyes looked surprisingly skeptical, as if he was evaluating the truth in Stefan's words.

"I'm Stefan Salvatore." Stefan had obviously noticed the little boy's hesitance, as he decided to properly introduce himself.

Suddenly all the wariness in little Damon's eyes seemed to disappear and was replaced by a look of complete amazement.

"Really?" he exclaimed, louder than Elena had heard him talk ever before. "My little brother was named Stefan, too. Stefan Salvatore." And again one of his heart-melting smiles appeared on his cute little face.

Stefan found himself automatically smiling back. He hadn't seen that look on his brother's face in a very long time.

Elena was just overwhelmed by the scene that was taking place in front of her. Suddenly even Stefan seemed to be a century and a half younger as he slowly started to chuckle.

"Why, that certainly is funny. You know what's even funnier?"

Little Damon shook his head, looking up at Stefan expectantly.

"I have an older brother, too. And, guess what, his name is Damon."

At this moment Elena was afraid the pretty blue eyes of the little boy might just roll right out of their socket. His mouth was gaping wide open and suddenly he looked back to Elena, as if seeking her confirmation. She laughed at the funny expression on his face. "Well, it seems to me like the Salvatore's weren't really inventive when it came to naming their children."

"They really weren't," Stefan agreed before he focused back on Damon. "Would you mind if I take Elena away from you for a moment, I need to talk to her?"

He hadn't missed how the little boy glanced at her every few second, as if to seek her reassurance. Stefan remembered that even though Damon had – as far as he knew – always been quite the little rebel, he also had been rather shy towards strangers during his younger years. And right now she seemed to be the one person he was acquainted best with, so he understood the attachment he obviously felt towards her. That and that he was still _Damon_, after all.

"Of course not, Mr... Stefan," he answered quietly, but – unsurprisingly – not without casting as quick glance at Elena first.

She gave him a reassuring smile, before she followed Stefan into the adjoining kitchen of the boarding house.

"I can't believe it", Stefan stated, shaking his head disbelievingly.

Elena nodded in agreement. "I know. I can't believe that this is really _our_ Damon. Just... as a child." She laughed shakily. "How could this happen? How did he get here?"

"I have no idea. And that question brings up even more. Like, how many Damon's are here right now? And is there a Damon in the 1840s?"

"W-What do you mean?" Elena asked slightly confused, but with a disquieting feeling in her stomach.

"There could be more than just one way that caused all this." He gestured towards the passage that led into the parlor. "If this is really the Damon from the late 1840s... than were is our Damon right now? Vampire Damon? Is he there, instead of him or is he still in this time?"

"Oh," Elena mumbled silently, shocked that this thought hadn't even crossed her mind so far. But then she caught onto something that Stefan had said and that confused her even more. "What do you mean when you say _'if'_ this is really the Damon from your past?"

"Well, what if he's not? What if this is our Damon who just got turned into his former self? I'm more than inclined to believe that _anything_ could be possible at this point. We're really at an impasse here as long as we don't know _what_ exactly happened."

Elena nodded, but found herself doubting the first part of his statement. "But, think about it, Stefan. If this was our Damon. Wouldn't he remember stuff? Like you and me?"

"Maybe whatever turned him into young Damon again also made him forget everything that happened before this point in his life."

"I don't know," Elena sighed and leaned against one of the kitchen counters exasperatedly. "But you're right. I don't think we get any further as long as we don't figure out what exactly brought him here."

"I think we should call Bonnie."

"Bonnie... why her?"

"Because she's a witch, Elena," Stefan explained with an incredulous look on his face. After all, it was _that obvious_. Elena's mouth turned into the shape of a perfect 'O' once again. "Even if she has nothing to do with it directly, this is clearly some kind of magic. If anyone can help us figure things out it's her."

Like she had done with Stefan, Elena stayed rather vague on the phone with Bonnie when she told her, that they could use her help at the boarding house. Of course she was instantly worried and Elena had to reassure her repeatedly that it was nothing serious. _At least they didn't think it was_. Bonnie had promised to come over as fast as she could, but she had to wait until her father was back home so she could use his car.

"So, I guess we're back to _wait and see_ for now," she announced to Stefan, who had most likely listened in on their conversation. "She's going to be here as soon as she can."

He nodded. "Maybe we should also try calling Damon again. I don't get why he's not answering his phone."

"I think he turned it off after he left." Elena flinched a little bit as she thought of her failed attempt of talking to him.

"I assume your conversation didn't turn out quite as well as you hoped then."

"_Not quite as well_ is a huge understatement. It went horrible." She sighed. "He's totally shutting me out again."

"I hate to say it, but that's my brother for you. He's been like that for a _long_ time. If you want to talk to him without the possibility of him doing that, then I guess you should talk to the one sitting in the parlor right now."

"Mmh." Elena wasn't happy about that. At all. When did he get so scared of letting others see what he truly felt. If Stefan was right it started long before he turned. "We should probably go back to the little Damon. He might get lonely otherwise."

They were about to step out of the kitchen when Stefan suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, a faraway look on his face.

"Stefan... what's wrong?"

"I heard a car. Outside," he answered without looking at her.

Elena shot a quick glance at the time display on the stove. "Wow... Bonnie was quick."

Shaking his head, Stefan slowly turned to look at her. "Not Bonnie's car... Damon's."

Her eyes widened as she looked from Stefan to the doorway that led towards the parlor. "Oh my... what's he going to do when he sees...?" At that moment they both heard the front door being opened and Elena automatically held her breath.

"I guess we're about to find out", he mumbled.

They waited for about ten second, which passed quietly to Elena's human ears. Stefan, however, could clearly hear his brother walking to his alcohol cabinet and pouring himself a glass of what could only be his beloved Bourbon. He assumed he didn't see the little boy right away because the arm chair was slightly turned towards the fire place, away from the door.

He didn't know if his brother caught on to the heartbeat in the room or if anything else finally gave away the presence of the little boy. But he surely noticed him.

Both Elena and Stefan could here as the expensive crystal tumbler hit the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces. And then there was Damon's voice.

"_What the... you got to be kidding me_."

"Sir?" they heard little Damon answer in return, sounding slightly worried.

That's when Stefan and Elena both decided that they should probably join the scene and started to move simultaneously.

As they reached the parlor they found exactly what they had expected. Damon was standing at the entryway to the room, looking completely... _freaked out_ and little Damon still sat in the arm chair in front of the fire place, looking at the other one with large eyes. However, as he saw that Elena and Stefan had finally returned from the kitchen, his gaze immediately shifted towards the young woman somewhat expectantly.

"Lena?"

She smiled at him briefly, before looking back at the _other_ Damon, who'd seemed to have lost his petrified stance as the little boy addressed her and was now looking at the two new arrivals as well.

"Would one of you two care to explain what... _that_ is supposed to mean?" He gestured towards his younger self. "If that's some joke... I really can't see the humor right now."

"It's not," Stefan replied right away. "Elena found him on the side of the road on her way home."

"On the side of the road?" he repeated Stefan's words somewhat unbelieving and slightly annoyed. "Well, how the hell did he get _there_?"

"We don't know," Elena said silently, while walking towards the arm chair. Since Vampire Damon's arrival the little boy looked more confused and uncomfortable with every passing second. "We don't know how he got _here_..." _Into this time_. Although the words weren't spoken aloud, every one of the adults heard them clearly in their minds. Unlike Stefan, Damon didn't even feel the need to confirm his assumptions regarding the boy. He _knew_ the instant he saw him, who he was... there was no doubt, he was absolutely sure. After all, he was the one who knew him best.

A tense silence laid itself upon the room like billows of heavy fog. Elena was looking at the Damon she knew with a hint of worry and uneasiness in her eyes. She tried to sense his mood, but had no such luck. His facial expression was unreadable as he was starring into open space. She could see his mind working, saw that he was deep in thought... but still couldn't figure out _what_ he was thinking. The little boy's eyes kept darting back and forth between the tall man, with the dark hair and those cerulean blue eyes that looked so much like his own and _Lena_, who was still standing next to him a hand placed on his chair.

Stefan watched the scene in front of him, waiting for someone to speak, for his brother to show a reaction... _any_ version of his brother.

It was the older Damon who finally broke the quiet tension in the room. "Has someone called the witch?"

"I did," Elena replied immediately, looking down at the boy for a second whose forehead creased in mild confusion.

"Good", Vampire Damon answered, still not looking at any of them. "One way or another, I'm _sure_ she has something to do with this."

"Lena", they all heard little Damon say and Stefan noticed that his brother – the _older_ one – seemed to flinch for a brief moment as he heard his own, yet so different voice.

"Damon?" Elena replied silently, looking back down at the boy.

"What _witch_?" he asked. Elena smiled slightly at the expression on his face. He looked like someone had just told him that cows could fly... or that they had a dragon in the back yard. But to him that was probably about the same. He knew the fairy tales after all.

"I'll explain later, okay?" She tentatively patted his head, telling him without words that there was no need to worry. He just nodded at her, seeming a little more relaxed than before. A contemplative look appeared on his face and after a moment he leaned a little closer to her.

"Lena?" he whispered again, obviously not wanting the two men to hear what he was about to say. He couldn't know that they would anyway but Elena decided to not tell him about that.

"'Yeah?" she replied equally quiet, a smile on her face.

"Who is the other man? The one who just came... and broke the glass?"

Her eyes moved to the man in question, _Damon_, and she could see how he tensed barely noticeably, as he pretended not to hear their conversation. Then her gaze switched to Stefan, who was also pretending to be politely oblivious to their words but couldn't quite hide the small grin on his face. Then she turned back to little Damon.

"That's Stefan's brother," she told him silently. "Remember, he told you about him?"

"Oh." The boy's eyes went wide as saucers. "He said that his name is..." He stopped, looking at Elena reassuringly, who only nodded in return. "_Damon_."

He gazed at the older man in wonder, who – as soon as he had heard his own name coming from his younger self – had turned towards him and was now starring at him intensely, the amazement in his own eyes barely concealed.

_This could not possibly be happening..._

* * *

_So... Damon met Damon... that sounds funny ;)_

_What do you think? Let me know!_

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	4. Weird Magic Witch Mojo

_AN: Big thanks to anyone who reads/faves/tweets/reviews this story and to my Beta tsukikomew. You guys are precious!_

* * *

Chapter 4 -_Weird Magic Witch Mojo_

* * *

"And you are absolutely sure it is him?"

"Yes, Bonnie," Elena assured her friend yet again. "We are. I already suspected something when he told me his name. And both Stefan and Damon confirmed it. It _is_ him."

"Well," the witch concluded. "Then Stefan was right. Whatever happened... it was magic, and a powerful spell at that."

Elena had been explaining everything that happened to Bonnie for the last half hour, having to repeat over and over again that the cute little boy in the arm chair was really Damon's younger self. Her friend seemed to have an exceptional hard time believing it and kept mumbling something about the balance of nature and the practical impossibility of time travel over and over again.

And yet, there he was. In flesh and blood sitting in the parlor of the Salvatore Boarding House was a very young, _very human_ mini-version of the one Damon Salvatore.

The older version was still firmly placed next to his alcohol cabinet, emptying one class after another of his Bourbon and silently listening in on their hushed conversation. Stefan was doing the same, bar the drinking, and was standing next to the fire place, his eyes moving back and forth between the girls and little Damon.

The boy was positively confused about what was going on around him. He hadn't forgotten the comment about Bonnie being a witch and now he kept sneaking glimpses at her every few seconds. He was obviously torn between the natural fear of everything unknown and his childlike curiosity. Though, comforted by the fact that _Lena_ seemed to trust that woman, his curiosity definitely prevailed. He couldn't understand what the two females were talking about, but no matter how much he perked up his ears, he couldn't make out one single word. He was starting to get frustrated and the little pout on his lips was the best indication for that.

He was, however, quite sure that he was the topic of their conversation. He might be young, but he had always been quite perceptive. And now the little guy couldn't help the feeling that his presence in their home wasn't the most welcome circumstance for them. And if there was one thing he surely didn't want, then it was being a burden to anyone... that was really the last thing on his mind. He was brought up to always be helpful and polite to his elders, to respects them and not cause them any unnecessary displeasure or trouble on his account. His mother had always praised him for being such a good, well-educated boy. She'd always been proud of him.

Most of the time, he was very well-behaved, modest and by far not as spoiled as some of the other children he knew. Unlike some of the boys and girls he grew up with, he didn't need someone's attention to keep himself entertained at all times. He was quite capable of occupying himself.

He loved the huge gardens that belonged to their property and, even more so, he loved the forest that lay beyond it. Whenever his father could spare some time from work he used to take him to go hunting or hiking with him. They had explored huge parts of the woods together but as he got more familiar with it he started to go on a lot of adventures all by himself.

After all he was almost seven whole years old now. He was a big boy.

"Lena?" he silently asked, causing all four pairs of eyes to turn in his direction immediately. He squirmed a little uncomfortably. "I don't want to be of any trouble to you."

"Oh, Damon," Elena exclaimed sympathetically, rushing over to his side. She sat down on the armrest of his chair and gently put her right arm around his small shoulders. "You're not causing us any trouble at all."

Well... maybe that wasn't entirely true; but then again, it wasn't exactly _his_ fault. It was their current cluelessness concerning his very presence that was troubling them, but you could hardly blame the little guy for that. If anything, _he_ was the one who really was_ in trouble_.

"We're just trying to figure out how you got lost in the forest and where your parents are... but until then we're gladly going to take good care of you, I promise."

He glanced at her skeptically, a look she was more then used to from his older self but which seemed utterly _unfitting_ on his boyish face. "But, Lena, I really don't –"

"You're not going to be a burden to any of us... Damon." The deep, calm voice that interrupted him – adding his own name more like an afterthought – came as a shock to all of them. Vampire-Damon hadn't said anything in a very long time; to Bonnie those were the first words she heard from him so far, as he had been unusually quiet and pondering the whole time.

Even now his voice sounded strikingly unfamiliar to all of them. It held a tenderness, a form of unquestioning and complete understanding for the little boy's sorrows, it almost seemed like it didn't belong to Damon at all. Not the Damon they knew, anyway.

Even Stefan who'd had the chance to know the human Damon – his loyal and protective big brother, the young man who hadn't been tainted by Katherine's games and deception yet – even he didn't know him to be like _this_. And neither did Elena, who has always been able to see the good in him, the potential behind his "all-bad" attitude and whom he had shown a rare vulnerable side of him.

The both didn't know him to be so _empathetic_.

He could practically feel their amazement crawling over his skin as every single pair of eyes in the room stared holes into him. It was a disconcerting feeling, triggering instincts in him that screamed at him to run, hide and _kill_. To do _anything_ to make them stop looking at him like _that_. It was burdening and plain uncomfortable.

However, he didn't run... or kill. He just tried to hide his discomfort as best as he could, turning his back towards the rest of the room again and focusing solely on his bottle of Bourbon. "We will try to find a way to get you back home..."

The little Damon was looking intently at his namesake's back, trying to figure him out. It was odd, but even though the man seemed to be quite uncommunicative so far, maybe even a little hostile, he didn't think that any harm would come to him from _his_ hands. His presence was strangely calming as much as it was unsettling at the same time.

"It's getting dark," Stefan broke the silence that once again tried to take over. "We should probably figure out your sleeping arrangements for the night." His words were directed at the little boy, as he remembered that his brother never liked it when someone was talking _about_ him – as opposed to _to_ him - while he was in the same room. He smiled slightly.

The little boy looked around the room, locking eyes with all of them for a brief second – except for the other Damon, of course – before turning his gaze to Elena again in the end.

"I want to stay with you," he mumbled silently, but with a hint of finality in his voice.

Elena softly stroked his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said and you could see the truth of her words clearly in her eyes. "But I have to go home for the night."

"Well," Bonnie interfered. She could clearly see the little boy's troubled features. "Why don't you take him with you?"

Elena sighed. "I can't. Alaric is still camping in our living room and... Jenna's stuff..." Elena trailed off. They hadn't been into the master bedroom for a while and they still needed to put her stuff away. Neither of them felt completely ready for that step yet. "Also, I think we should let him calm down a little bit overnight and catch some sleep before we confront him with even more new faces."

Bonnie nodded, understanding her friend's point and silently agreeing with her. The little guy already seemed a bit overwhelmed with everything that was going on.

"He can sleep here," Stefan said. "He can have his own room and... if you want, Elena, you can take one of the guest rooms, too. Technically, this is still your house..."

"That's actually a good idea. But I still need to go home tonight, explain everything that happened to Alaric and Jeremy." By now she almost knew her little story by hard, how she found him on the side of the road and everything that happened afterward; with all the surprising and unbelievable details. "I also want to check the attic; I'm pretty sure my Mom kept some of Jeremy's old clothes up there in some suitcases." She turned to the little Damon and gave him a warm smile, which he couldn't resist to return – despite his aversion to the prospect of Elena leaving. "I'm going to be back first thing tomorrow morning, with breakfast, a duffel bag with stuff for myself and some clothes for you, okay?"

Hesitantly and with a tiny, but quite obvious bit of displeasure, the boy finally agreed. What else could he have done, anyway?

"But you _will_ come back tomorrow morning?" he had asked her then... and yet again for the umpteenth time after Elena had tucked him into one of the big, comfortable beds in the Salvatore Boarding House. He was yawning heartily, barely able to keep his eyes open. But he had to make sure. "Promise?"

Stefan had fixed them one of the guest rooms on the same floor, were Damon's room was and had promised to have the one next to it ready for her by tomorrow morning. Elena smiled softly at the little boy, brushing the dark hair out of his forehead. It amazed her how fast they had bonded. How she already – after only a mere few hours – felt this huge amount of affection and protectiveness for him. But then, he _was_ Damon after all... and she had known him for far longer.

"I promise," she whispered before she turned off the lamp on the bedside table and quietly left the room.

* * *

"So," Stefan said to no one in particular as soon as Elena entered the parlor again. "What are we going to do with him?"

"Well, for now he is sound asleep in one of your guest rooms," Elena shared with the group. "He's been pretty tired and I don't think he'll wake up again until tomorrow morning."

Stefan and Bonnie just nodded in silent agreement; Damon however mumbled something under his breath that she couldn't quite make out. But she decided not to bother with that right now, since they had greater things to worry about. And if Damon Salvatore wanted himself to be heard, he surely knew how to.

"I think our best shot at finding out what to do with him and – most importantly – finding a way to send him back," Bonnie said, looking at the other three, "is figuring out what brought him here in the first place."

Damon laughed humorlessly, raising an eyebrow at them. "Now, I don't know about you, _Three Investigators_," Damon remarked in his usual drawl, "but I think this whole situation has _weird magic witch mojo_ written all over it."

"You're right", Bonnie admitted, just barely bridling her usual annoyance at his snarky behavior. "But unfortunately, that doesn't really get us any further in finding out what exactly caused your younger self's sudden appearance." She turned slightly away from Damon, addressing all of them once again. "This could be _all kinds_ of magic... I've read some of the Grimoires we took from the Martin's apartment and, as far as I know – there is more than just one possible explanation for this."

Elena looked at her a little surprised, ironically taken aback by the fact that Bonnie actually deemed this situation "explainable". So far she thought their problem was finding an explanation _at all_, not picking out the right one among what was obviously a lot of possibilities.

The other two didn't seem as surprised by Bonnie's statement, however. Stefan appeared to be deep in thought, whereas Damon was evidently slowly getting impatient. And – as a commonly known fact – Damon Salvatore didn't do either bored, or impatient.

"Care to elaborate?" he all but snapped at the witch. "Or do we have to worm everything out of you?"

By all appearances, Bonnie tried hard to bite back her flaring temper and – for sure – the quick-witted comeback that was without a doubt just waiting on her tongue to be spat right at him. Her hands were shaking but she managed to restrain herself and not react to Damon's rude behavior. Her voice was strained, though, when she answered him.

"Well... first of all, this is definitely strong magic that much is for sure." She slowly shook her head. "You don't mess with the rules and confines of nature and time so easily. There _is_ the possibility that solely a spell – nothing more than that – was responsible for this, however, if you ask me, that's rather unlikely."

"Why?" Stefan went fishing for more information immediately. Looking at him right now, one could almost believe that he had an idea... that he was onto something. "And what exactly do you mean when you say_ 'nothing more than that'_?"

"Exactly that. No additional... _items_, if you will." Once again Damon sighed exasperatedly, whereas Stefan just raised an eyebrow, prodding the witch to elaborate. "There is a lot of power needed to perform a spell like that. We're talking _"almost killing a hybrid"_ kind of power. Maybe not quite as much, but … well, you get the picture." Bonnie shrugged her shoulders. "So, if you ask me, there has to be another force involved. Another power source. Something that... channeled the energy."

"Like with the tomb spell? And the comet?" Stefan asked eagerly, almost reminding Elena of an eager student.

Damon just rolled his eyes.

"Exactly", Bonnie nodded smiling. Obviously pleased about Stefan's enthusiasm. "Celestial events and phenomena are one of the things that can deliver a certain... power boost. They're also the most common, since they're quite dependable, can be easily predicted and often occur repetitive." Her voice sounded as is she had memorized the lines from a text book. Or, well, a Grimoire in that case. "That can be a comet, eclipse, solstice, the full moon, a meteor shower, etcetera."

"But nothing of that happened lately. And the next full moon is still about a week away", Elena said, feeling as clueless as before.

"But you said 'one of the things'?" Stefan immediately chimed in, directing his question towards Bonnie. "There's another possibility, then?"

Bonnie nodded. "It is also helpful to somewhat bind the spell to a certain item, where it's supposed to trigger whatever it was cast for under a series of specific circumstances."

Emily's crystal, the Gilbert device, the moonstone... Elena recited in her head and nodded slowly. That made sense. Damon just kept starring at Bonnie, whereas Stefan seemed to be about to recite his own conclusion to the group once again, but got interrupted by Bonnie before he had the chance.

"This way, a part of the power needed can be drawn from another spell, person or substance at a later time. Often these two methods are combined, celestial events and mystic items, like it happened with the _Sun and the Moon Curse_, or rather the_ Hybrid Curse_; however, they don't necessarily have to be."

"Got an example for that two, Miss Bennett?", Damon drawled from across the room.

"In fact, I do." She nodded towards the hand, in which he held his tumbler. "Your ring."

"The Lapis Lazuli?" Elena asked for clarification.

"Mh-Hm. It would need an awful lot of power to cast a spell directly on a vampire, or any other item for that matter, to protect him from the sunlight. Whereas casting a spell on a Lapis Lazuli stone instead, is fairly easy in comparison."

Damon huffed out an exasperated breath, which made all the heads turn back towards him immediately.

"So, just to be clear about that, Judgey. You're saying that – practically – all it takes is a _fairly_ averagely talented which wishing upon a shooting star, accidentally holding her magic wand, and all of a sudden we're stuck in some weird crossover episode of _"Back to the Future"_ and _"The Twilight Zone"_. _Awesome_... just _awesome_. So much for power in the wrong hands and -"

"Well, it's not _that_ easy, Damon, _obviously_," Bonnie interrupted him vigorously, her cheeks flushed with anger. "Otherwise there would be much more wishes coming true in this world. Every stupid birthday or dandelion wish, but that..." The room fell eerily quiet as Bonnie suddenly stopped mid-sentence, her eyes becoming wide as saucers. A gust of air left her lips. "Wait a minute..."

Elena exchanged a both worried and intrigued gaze with Stefan, before they spoke up at the same time. "What? What is it, Bonnie?"

The witches head snapped to Elena in a quick motion. "What did you wish for today?"

"Wh-What?" Elena responded completely bewildered. "What do you mean?"

"The car," Bonnie explained animatedly, gesturing wildly with her hands as if that was all the information Elena should need. She sighed exasperatedly when she saw that her friend still looked like what she was saying was all Greek to her. "When I picked up your eyelash. In the car... and when _I_ told you to make a wish. What did you wish for?"

Elena's now insecure gaze lingered on Bonnie for a few seconds, just starring at her. Then, quickly, it darted over to Damon, then Stefan and finally back to her friend. Damon was strangely reminded of a deer caught in the head lights or facing its predator. She seemed uncomfortable... and that was _exactly_ what she felt like, as she had the room's audience's full attention now.

Everybody was looking at her with expectation, bewilderment, curiosity... and quite possibly even accusation. Or did she just imagine that?

"Bonnie," she started to mumble evasively. "That was just a stupid... wish on an eyelash. You don't really think... I mean, we did that all the time when we were younger and nothing ever happened. So why..."

Bonnie slowly shook her head and Elena immediately fell silent. "But that was before I came into my powers, Elena." Of course... of _course_ it was. "And I'm still quite strong."

Elena could do nothing but nod at that. Truth be told, she had almost expected her friends answer... it made perfect sense. After all, there was no way that she could _not_ realize how her wish could have _possibly_ led to _this_.

_I want the old Damon back._

That seemingly meaningless episode in her car earlier this day could definitely be the explanation they were searching for. Even though it still seemed rather impossible to her since i_t was just an eyelash wish after all..._

"So?" Bonnie pressed carefully. "What _did_ you wish for?"

Elena shifted uncomfortably. "Well, after our conversation at the Grill... I was going to come here to talk to Damon right after I dropped you off, remember?" she asked hesitantly. Her main focus, however, was not on her friend, but on the dark-haired, blue-eyed vampire in question. She kept stealing quick glances at him, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Yeah, I know," Bonnie stated, following her gaze for a second. "I remember. You were... _worried_."

She just nodded again. Damon's eyes – now unwaveringly fixed on her – seemed to get more intense and penetrating with every passing second and she could practically feel its weight pushing down on her. It made her feel... guilty.

"I knew that it was not going to be easy... I knew that he..."

"You don't have to talk about me, like I'm not in the same room, Elena," she got interrupted by Damon's velvety voice. He didn't exactly seem angry at her... just a little irritated and annoyed. "And stop being so damn shaky... whatever you're about to say, it's not like I'm going to bite your head off."

His unadorned straightforwardness hit her unexpectedly and it did nothing to calm her nerves... or alleviate the guilt she was feeling.

Whatever situation they were faced with now was more than likely _her_ fault... it was _due_ to her wishes and she was scared of what he might think of that... and what he might do. And – more than anything else – she was ashamed that he just saw right through her. How she had lost her formerly regained trust in his ability to keep his calm. And his believe in her. Lately, she had grown unsure of their relationship's stability again... and she felt bad, that he had to notice that _now_, even though it might have happened because of his behavior in the first place.

Cautiously, she locked her eyes with his blue ones, pleading for him not to judge her... to understand what she had been thinking when she made that wish. What she had been feeling.

"You had started to shut me out again lately; you were closing yourself off again and... while I might have understood your reasons... I didn't want it to happen." She took a deep, steadying breath, feeling her voice grow stronger now, gradually. "I was worried and I wanted to be able to talk to you again like I had been just a few months ago. I wanted it to be like that again between the two of us." She was looking at him intently.

"So", Bonnie chimed in carefully, watching the pair just starring at each other for several seconds. "_What_ did you wish for?"

Damon hadn't shown any reaction to Elena's confession so far. It wasn't like he didn't already know all these things... they did somewhat talk about it earlier, after all. He was well aware that Elena was practically mourning and longing for their past closeness and easiness. But now all these feelings had gotten a completely new severity... suddenly they meant so much more than they already had.

And Elena knew as well that this moment had somehow become a defining one for them. Whatever happened after she told him what _exactly_ she had wished for, was most likely either going to make them or break them altogether. This was going to determine the recoverability of their entire relationship. This could be her last chance...

Not averting her gaze from his in the slightest she finally spoke the words aloud they were all waiting for.

"I... I wished to have the old Damon back."

For at least a minute it was totally quiet in the parlor of the Boarding House. It seemed, like all of them were silently thinking about what Elena had just revealed to all of them... and what it meant. Damon seemed even more unmoving and unreadable now, then he did before and Elena found that really unsettling. The only thing about his face, that showed at least the slightest hint of emotion, was the deep crease that now resided between his eyebrows. He was not looking at her anymore, instead he was starring off into space.

Stefan's stance was quite similar to his brothers... and again it was Bonnie who finally took the floor and asked the questions all three of them were pondering on right now.

"Is that all?... Is that _all_ you wished for?"

Elena frowned a little bit, thinking back to the moment in the car when she had blown that little piece of hair of her friend's finger and what _exactly_ she had been thinking. Slowly she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I... might have been a little more specific," she let on silently. "I don't remember it perfectly, but I'm pretty sure... that I wished to get the old Damon back... _the one without his defenses_."

And there it was... their explanation. The reason why _this_, and not any other _old Damon_ had been brought back to them. To her.

She had wished for a defenseless, unguarded version of him, someone she could talk to again, someone who wouldn't hide himself or anything else from her... and then she met the boy. Suddenly she found herself faced with his seven year old self.

As soon as Elena's mind started to register what that really meant... what it said about Damon – and not just the one standing next to the liquor cabinet right now, but also the one sleeping peacefully in a bed upstairs – she found herself frowning right along with Bonnie and Stefan, who had obviously come to the same conclusion.

"Well," Stefan mumbled quietly, "I guess we found our explanation." His gaze was locked on Damon; however, he didn't seem to actually see him. It appeared like he was looking right through him, at something way beyond Damon that only he could see.

"But... but that would," Elena stuttered shakily. Her eyes flitted to Bonnie briefly, as if she was looking for reassurance. "That would mean that... you were only about seven when you started to..."

"Could you all just stop starring at me like I'm your latest circus attraction?"

Now he seemed livid. This was just _too much_. Damon felt like someone had just stripped him naked – not in the literal, but a metaphorical sense, which made it even worse for him. Without being aware of what they were doing, Elena and Bonnie had just laid bare a part of him that he'd been trying – _fighting_ – to hide for over a century now. They ignorantly unearthed something that went so deep... and now it felt like his profoundest and most secret emotions just lay there, in the middle of the room, for all to see. Like a piece of meat, tossed into a cage full of lions, just ready to pounce on it and tear it apart until there was nothing left of it. Until they got through every inch and every fiber of it, savoring and dissecting it to the core.

He could only barely keep his calm enough for him to turn around and silently head upstairs to his room, ignoring all the '_Damon'_s and _'We didn't mean to'_s being called after him. Fortunately – either for him or them, he wasn't exactly sure – they had the good sense to not come after him and just leave him the hell alone. He couldn't take their inquisitive stares, the pity in their eyes or any of their comforting words right now. He didn't want them.

Right now he just had to be by himself for awhile; to lay in his bed in a Bourbon-induced sense of calmness and figure some things out for himself, before he could face the rest of the world again.

The rest of them... and – above all – _himself_.

* * *

_So, what do you say? Seems like the gang finally figured it out, huh?_

_Let me know what you think!_

_**Reviews are better than Elena tucking Damon in ;) … and get you a teaser for Chapter 5, of course**!_

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	5. DamonMayCare

_AN: Again, big thanks to all the people reading/tweeting/commenting/liking... and apparently enjoying this story as much as I do. You guys are awesome! Also, big thank you to my wonderful Beta, tsukikomew!_

_Here's more of Damon for you ;)_

* * *

Chapter 5 _-__ Damon-May-Care_

* * *

It was already way past midnight when Damon finally decided to leave his room.

He had waited and listened until first Bonnie and then Elena had left the house. And after that, he had waited some more. He'd heard Stefan going to bed about three hours ago and falling asleep only 30 minutes later; he'd heard the rain starting to fall, pounding softly against his window; he'd heard the big clock in the library chiming every full hour... and he'd heard the steady, slightly faster than normal heartbeat of a child, sleeping just down the hall from his bedroom.

He tried to keep his mind away from thinking about his younger self most of the time. The bare fact that he – _himself_ – was _here, _in a time and place where the only seven-year-old boy clearly didn't belong, seemed like more than he could grasp right now. It felt like his brain would burst if he just thought about this too much; about all the implications of this situation... and about the reasons.

So even now, in the comforting darkness and solitude of his bedroom, he'd decided not to dwell on it and had gotten up, out of his bed, to take a stroll downstairs – mainly because of both his depleted supply of bourbon and his increasing hunger for some blood and more alcohol.

He took one of the frozen blood bags from the back of the freezer compartment in the kitchen and heated it up in the microwave, before gulping it down greedily. He missed the real, fresh stuff sometimes – especially on days like this, when he was genuinely and wholly pissed off with the world – but he'd decided to forgo it a long time ago. It just wasn't worth the trouble... or, to put it another way, having endless fights with Elena over it, ending in either her slapping him, looking at him with this goddamned look of disappointment or both of them saying something, that will most likely hurt the other.

Or all three. Not necessarily in that order.

And he had found that he could gladly do without _that_. He was all about picking his fights today... or maybe just avoiding them altogether when it came to certain people and certain issues. Elena was definitely one of them – both a person and an issue, that is – hence his growing absence in her life lately. Dealing with her was not at all easy for him... she asked too much, observed too much, cared too much... and made _him_ care _way_ to much about everything, really.

But now it seemed like she wasn't even the biggest of his emotional problems anymore... but still highly involved in it. _Way to go._

He downed another bag of blood, not even bothering to heat it up this time, before he finally went on his search for another bottle of high quality whiskey. He was busy rummaging through his well-stocked liquor cabinet, when suddenly he noticed a shift in the atmosphere... so to speak. He heard footsteps, tentatively walking down the stairs and making only the slightest of noises in the process... reserved and insecure. And it became obvious to him immediately that they didn't belong to his brother.

Slowly he turned around, trying not to startle the little boy and scare him even more. He probably was pretty frightened already.

"Bad dreams?" Damon asked as softly as possible, barely loud enough to hear.

Nevertheless the boy jumped with fright before his eyes started flitting across the room, searching for the voice that had spoken to him. "Sir," he mumbled unsurely as he discovered the older Damon's looming figure, looking completely black against the blueish moonlight that shone through the windows. "Excuse me, I was..."

"It's okay, don't fret... Everything's alright," he said with a shrug, knowing exactly what his younger self was worried about. He had always been so considerate as a child, scared even of the slightest bit of disapproval... and always so eager to please everyone. "Can't fall asleep again?" He knew the ghosts of his past... he remembered all of them.

His younger self shook his head, not looking up at him anymore but down at his own feet. He appeared to be even smaller now than he did when he first saw him this afternoon. Like he just shrank a size in a matter of seconds, secretly recoiling from whatever scared or discomforted him... and lost. He looked utterly lost.

Of course, Damon knew that feeling, alright.

The compassion he felt for that little boy was something he wasn't used to feeling for anyone anymore... except maybe for Elena and on very good – very rare – days for his brother. But this was something completely different – because it went so much deeper even then just empathy.

He didn't just _comprehend_ his sorrows, or sympathize with his pain or desperation; imagine his grief. He _knew_... he felt it. He was living every single second of it, because whatever it was – whatever pain or discomfort the little boy was feeling – was his own.

And he couldn't help feeling – at least somewhat – responsible for it. For him.

"You want some warm milk?" The question sounded foreign from his lips, making him frown slightly.

Little Damon raised his head and gazed up at the older one with eyes as big as saucers. He looked like he'd been just offered the world, like "big Damon" had just suggested something that seemed fantastic, but yet completely infeasible at the same time. Like a ride to the moon. The vampire was torn between joy and sadness over his stunned expression.

"It always helps with the bad dreams, doesn't it?" he mumbled, his voice surprisingly unsteady.

The little boy nodded his head yes and – slowly but surely – the tension was leaving his small body.

While Damon was busy heating up some milk in the kitchen he was – for once in a long time – happy again about the fact, that they had so many humans inhabiting the boarding house on a quite frequent level. Otherwise he would have had hardly anything to offer his younger self, except a variety of expensive alcohol and blood. The former – although harboring the possibility to relax him some more – would have been highly inappropriate and would surely lead to Elena reading him the riot act first thing in the morning... and the ladder would have undoubtedly freaked him out to no end. He still remembered being a little squeamish in his younger years. It wasn't exactly the blood that had bothered him, but more the idea of pain another person was in that had troubled him to no end. That pretty much had lessened as he got older, but even as a grown up man, he still hadn't liked it too much, which was one of the reasons why he'd deserted during the civil war. He had still hated it to see other people in pain... and more yet, to inflict it on them.

The irony wasn't lost on him now. Obviously a lot had changed since then... he had changed tremendously, more or less voluntarily. It was a succession of events and people he encountered in his life that made him the person he was now. Some of their influence was good, but most of it bad, if he said so himself. The proof of how early in his life he had felt the need to start building a wall around himself and his emotions to protect them both was sitting in front of him right at this moment, innocently waiting for a cup of hot milk. It wouldn't be much longer until that little boy found out that it would take a lot more than that to chase your demons away.

A whole lot more.

Until someday he had to realize that sometimes you just couldn't get rid of them. Sometimes they where there for good and all you could do was try to live with them. Maybe even embrace them.

The loud 'bing' of the microwave pulled him out of his inner musings. He took the cup with the now warmed up milk out of the microwave and placed it in front of the little boy, who was starring at it with blatant awe.

"Everything alright?" Damon asked his younger self, whose eyes where now going back and forth between his milk and the microwave. _Oh, I see..._

"That is a really small oven," little Damon gushed unrestrainedly. "And it is _soo fast_." For a moment he seemed to forget about his shyness and inhibitions, his natural curiosity getting the better of him.

Damon couldn't help but smirk slightly at his younger self's little outburst. He remembered how he had always been eager to learn and experience new things and how he was so easily enthused.

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing, isn't it?"

The little one nodded enthusiastically and gave the older Damon a big smile, before he finally took the first sip of his milk, humming appreciatively. "Thank you", he mumbled towards Damon without fully taking his lips from the rim of the cup.

And just like that some of the ice between the two Damon's seemed to be broken... it was like they unknowingly crossed some kind of barrier that had existed between them before. They were going to be okay with each other, Damon was certain of that now. Everything was going to be okay, somehow.

Apparently not everything that came from that stupid wish of Elena's had to be bad. Of course, there was still the issue of some of his most personal emotions laid bare for everyone to see – and surely that fact still pissed him of – but he would handle it... somehow. He would find a way to deal with it... and while he did that, he would also try to make this as easy for his younger self than possible. In the end, he could always say that every good deed would effectively be purely egoistical. That thought brought a smile to his face.

He hadn't thought it possible, but this day had – at so late an hour – still taken a slight turn for the better.

Who knew, maybe warm milk _still_ had a way of helping with his demons – even now, for a grown-up, homicidal vampire like he was.

* * *

When Elena arrived at the Boarding house the next morning she found Stefan and the younger Damon sitting in the parlor, bend over a game of checkers. She couldn't help but to watch them silently for a few moments, still completely baffled by the possibility of having the little boy in their time. One night hasn't done anything to diminish the sheer incredibility of that fact. Not even explaining it multiple times – first to Alaric and Jeremy, then to Caroline, who had called her early that morning, because she couldn't get a hold of Bonnie – hadn't really helped in making it all sound more real.

Watching the little boy now mesmerized her. She could see so much of the older Damon in him – the way he frowned, pulling his eyebrows together when he was thinking about his next move, the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth when Stefan took out one of his tokens. But then – on the other hand – they seemed like completely different persons. Younger Damon still had that irretrievable childlike innocence to him; there was that odd mix of curiosity and shyness she had already noticed and he was still mostly naïve, but in a good way. He was like an open book, displaying every single one of his emotions openly on his cute little face.

She probably could have stood there a lot longer; just watching him interact with Stefan, but Damon – the older one – came sauntering into the room, making both his and her presence known to the little boy.

"Elena, finally", he uttered exasperatedly.

At the sound of her name the little boy on the couch immediately looked up from his board game, giving her the most brilliant smile ever, all tiny white teeth and dimples. She couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Lena, you're back."

She had to laugh at his excitement. "I promised you, that I'd be back in the morning." She held up the brown paper bag in her left hand. "And breakfast."

"Thank god," older Damon exclaimed, as he walked up to her, taking said bag out of her hands. "The kid has been dying to get something _proper_ to eat since he woke up at six thirty in the morning. He refused to eat anything before your arrival." He rolled his eyes in a seemingly annoyed gesture, but Elena could tell that something had at least slightly improved his mood since he angrily walked out on them last night. Whatever it was, she was thankful for it... she knew that he was still a little pissed at her, after all she had exposed a very personal part of him. But it was a lot easier to handle a rather calm, irritated Damon, than a completely pissed off, drunk, irritated Damon.

"I tried to be here earlier, but Caroline called right when I was about to leave and I had to explain everything to her, because she wanted to know why Bonnie wasn't answering her phone." She shrugged apologetically, letting the heavy duffel bag slide off her shoulder in the process and dropping it to the floor. "Apparently, she's already busy searching for a solution to all of this. Caroline went over to her place to help."

"Good," he answered shortly before turning around walking into the kitchen. "Oh," he said after a few steps, turning back to look at her, "after breakfast we should probably think of some sort of cover up story. You know, to explain the presence of my much younger look alike, until Bonnie finds a way to... solve this." His eyes flitted to the little boy briefly, who was successfully distracted by Stefan in that moment. "We wouldn't want the ever nosy towns' people of Mystic falls to start talking. I really don't want to explain my supposed _love child_ to anyone." With that he resumed his way to the kitchen.

Elena watched him walking out of her sight. She could understand where he was coming from. With the uncanny resemblance between them, both in their looks as well as in their names, people where bound to jump to conclusions. And it wouldn't be hard to pin an illegitimate child to Damon with the reputation he had – however, it would be more than complicated to explain said child's sudden disappearance afterward. _If_ Bonnie found a way to send him back to his own time.

They really needed to come up with a good explanation. Otherwise this could get even more intricate and problematic than it already was.

She wasn't a fool. She knew that this incident wouldn't put her out of Damon's good graces forever. Hell, she probably wasn't even really out of them right now to begin with. But even she didn't want her stupid wish to completely backfire on her; she knew that she had to try anything to help solving this mess. Her friendship with Damon might not be the one on the line... but their communication and outspokenness certainly was.

* * *

After they had eaten breakfast together Elena decided to go looking for some better fitting clothes for the little boy in the duffel bag she brought. So far he'd still been wearing her clothes she put him in yesterday and they didn't fit him all that well. He seemed to be rather small for his age actually.

"You don't seriously want to put my younger self in a shirt that has _Pokémon_ on it, do you?" Damon asked as he walked up behind her, his face contorted in disgust.

Elena had to roll her eyes at his dramatics. "I don't think he'll care that much. And Jeremy actually liked them as a kid." Her response only caused him to wrinkle his nose.

"Well, that's exactly my point. Did this kid have one single item of clothing, that didn't have some stupid comic character on it?"

She sighed exasperatedly. "Well, I hate to break it to you, Mr. Fashionable, but that's what a lot of boys his age wear nowadays. You can't really dress him in a leather jacket and_ John Varvatos_, now can you?"

He pulled a face at her, much like a boy of the age in question would and then decided to just stand by and sulk as she continued to go through the duffel bag upstairs in what had been assigned as Little Damon's bedroom for now.

It didn't take long for the feeling of being watched to become annoying. He had always had a way of riling her up and making her insides churn, just by being around. And she still couldn't determine if that was a good, or a bad thing. Right now, however, she was irritated by his silent starring and the buzzing it caused inside of her.

"Seriously, Damon?" She put down the shirt she had been folding and turned her head, to get a better look at him. "Don't you have _anything_ better to do?"

"Nope," he said, popping the p. "Mini-Me is helping Stefan with the dishes and since I'm the one who cooked I'm off the hook for cleaning up. So watching you unpack that little comic geek's clothes is about the most interesting thing to do right now."

She sighed exasperatedly. "Let's just skip this whole aloof act of yours and start thinking about something to explain his sudden appearance like you suggested earlier." She picked up the pile of shirts she piled up on the bed and handed it to Damon, motioning for him to put them in the dresser. "And while we're at it, we might as well figure out what exactly we're going to tell _him_."

To her surprise Damon became serious in an instant, putting away the clothes she handed him and waiting for her to continue speaking.

While they had breakfast together earlier it was obvious that they had already come to the unspoken agreement not to tell him about vampires. Knowing that Bonnie was a witch was probably already more than enough. Thankfully he was still in an age where he seemed to believe in fairy tales quite easily and didn't question it any further.

But adding vampires, werewolves and even time traveling to the equation would most likely be taking it a huge step too far. He didn't need to know all this... he couldn't. It would put an enormous dent into his childlike innocence, force him to face things he shouldn't even be thinking about... and who knew what impact it might have on his future... on _Damon's_ future if he knew things.

That was one of the sorrows that had kept Elena awake last night, tossing and turning in her bed. What if they did something that would have such a huge impact on the future, that it wouldn't only change his own life drastically, but all of theirs as well? What if something happened, that led Damon to choose differently in his life... concerning the war, or Katherine, or turning _itself_? Or what if they couldn't find a way to send his younger self back? Would the older Damon just disappear?

And what would that mean for Stefan, if he never had a brother? Or herself... Caroline, Jeremy, Bonnie... everyone? Every single persons whose life had ever come into contact with Damon, who's life he even had the slightest of impacts on. What would happen to them?

She couldn't find an answer to any of these thoughts; all they were doing to her was giving her a huge head ache.

And if she was being honest, she probably didn't even want to know what exactly could happen if they didn't figure out how to solve this. The mere thought of what could all possibly go wrong... it scared her. It _terrified_ her to no end. She had fought too hard over the last few months, the last year really, to be faced with loss and desperation again. She couldn't even bare the _idea_ of losing another person... losing her reality.

She sighed deeply. "I don't... I don't really know what to do right now," she admitted ruefully. "Just... I don't think we can tell him any of this. Whatever version we decide to tell everybody else, we should probably tell him as well. And maybe we should try to stay as close to the truth as possible." _I'm just so tired of spinning lies and twisted truths for all the people around us_, she thought to herself. Then she turned to look at Damon again, only to see him lifting an eyebrow at her skeptically.

"Well... as close as we can, without giving too much away," she clarified. "We could say that he's some distant cousin of yours or something. That way he could still be Damon Salvatore without it raising too much suspicion." She shrugged her shoulders. "Plus, the fewer lies we tell, the smaller the possibility of someone blowing our cover."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Damon answered, as he took another pile of clothing from her hands, to put it in the dresser. "At least that's something we can tell everybody else."

"What do you mean _everybody else_?"

"What I mean is that that little boy down there is seven, not four. And one could say that I know him pretty well, actually. Believe it or not, Elena, Mystic Falls hasn't changed all that much over time. At least not the way it looks. And he's not stupid. He will recognize it."

Elena sighed. "Well, I guess you're right. So what exactly should we tell him then?"

"Let me worry about that. I'll take care of it." When he looked at her he could see an expression of hesitance and uncertainty on her face. He couldn't help but roll his yes and sigh exasperatedly. "Oh, come on, Elena! With all due respect, but don't you think I'm the one who should tell him? After all, he's _my_ younger self. You might be his security blanket right now, but I _know_ him. I know exactly what to say and how to tell him." He snatched another pile of clothes out of her hands. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna destroy his innocence and his dreams."

"That's not what I..."

"It's exactly what you thought", he interrupted her. "And with every other kid that worry might even be justified. But you seem to forget a major fact here. That's _myself_... and I'm terribly selfish."

For a moment she just looked at him, a little taken aback by his emotional outburst. Then, with a calm voice she said: "No, you're not."

"Whatever", came his mumbled reply and it seemed like their discussion was over.

Wordlessly she handed him another pile for him to put in the closet. As he stopped in front of it, he took the shirt on top between both his thumbs and index fingers, holding it up high in the air, a slight look of disgust marring his facial features. "Well... at least with my younger self being dressed like some miniature comic freak, there's hardly any possibility for someone to believe he was my secret love child, or something equally stupid."

Elena just rolled her eyes at his incessant moaning and groaning, silently finishing her job at hand. Once or twice Damon may have made a mumbled comment about how he would rather unpack _her_ clothes, but she chose to ignore those. Only when they were done putting all the little boy's clothes away, she addressed the vampire again.

"If it's okay with you guys, I'll be taking the other guest room just next door?" She looked at him expectantly, as he grinned at her slowly.

"Why, technically, it's still _your_ house, Elena. You can sleep wherever the hell you want."

She looked at him disapprovingly, tilting her head to the side, and sighed exasperatedly.

Damon just shrugged. "It's fine, Elena. Take the room. I really don't care." This answer only seemed to please her just a little bit more as she huffed out a little breath.

"Can't we just skip that?"

"Skip what?" was his confused reply.

"This whole aloof-act of yours you've got down to a T, obviously. You should know by now, that it doesn't work. Nobody buys it anyway, Damon, so just give up trying." She shook her head slowly, looking at him with what could only be described as an uncomfortable combination of sadness and sympathy. He didn't like this look at all. "We both know that this affects you a great deal more then you let on, Damon. You're not as indifferent about this as you want everyone else to think."

"I really am indifferent about which bedroom you'll spend the night in, Elena, unless it's mine, of course" he halfheartedly tried to divert their conversation from its seriousness.

Deep down, however, he knew she was right. And he also knew that no one really believed his act anymore. That it had become pointless the minute he started admitting that he cared... about something, anything. But it wasn't like he could just stop. He's been like this for too long – longer even than his undead live had lasted so far – and such old habit's where quite hard to get rid of.

For a moment it looked like Elena wanted to say something else, like she was about to disagree with him again. But she must have decided differently, because she just led out the breath she took with a loud pant, shaking her head as she looked away from him.

"Okay", she muttered silently. "Then – since you made your point about _not caring_ – I'll be in the guest room." And with that she left him standing alone in his younger self's bedroom, looking after her retreating form.

She didn't hear the words he spoke so quietly into the open room; even his own enhanced ears had problems picking them up.

"I might not... but the other me does."

* * *

_So... what do you think? A lot of dialogue in this chapter, I'm a little surprised of myself ;)_

_As always, let me know your thoughts!_

_**Reviews are better than Damon making you some hot milk in the middle of the night ;) … and – you know the drill – they get you a teaser for Chapter 6! :)**_

_Follow me on Twitter: TwErdbeerchen_

_My LJ: ms-brightside13_


	6. About Care

_**AN**: Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews this story! And big thanks to my Beta **tsukikomew**... now, I'm not gonna make you wait any longer than I already did!_

* * *

Chapter 6_ -__ About Care_

* * *

Elena never deluded herself into thinking that the rest of "the Gang"- who'd all been filled in in some way or another at this point - wouldn't show up sooner or later to take a look at little Damon for themselves; to make sure for themselves that the crazy story they've been told was actually true. She just thought that it would be a little later, rather than so soon... or at least she hoped so.

But as it turned out, not even twenty four hours came to pass before the first visitor arrived at the boarding house wanting to take a look at him. Caroline – who had only been told this very morning – leading the way, of course.

Elena was just walking back downstairs after she had finished putting away her own clothes in the guest bedroom next to little Damon's when she heard her friends loud squeal slash cry.

"Oh. _My_. _Gosh_!"

She decided to take to steps at a time, hurrying down the stairs to get there faster. She could only imagine what her friends animated outburst would do to the little guys insecure nature. And she was sure that if she didn't get there soon enough some damage control would be in order.  
To her relief she found Stefan still with little Damon when she got to the parlor, from where she had heard Caroline's cry of surprise. Her friend was standing in the entryway, jaw slacked and her eyes not moving an inch from the little guy who looked like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin and go hide somewhere.

"Care," Stefan mumbled cautiously. His eyes where moving back and forth between her and little Damon, seemingly torn between staying at his side for comfort or going over to help her get over the shock. When he heard Elena approach his gaze immediately settled on her. He sighed. "Hey, Elena," he said, consciously alerting the little boy at his side to her presence. His stance relaxed instantly. "Are you all settled in?"

"Yes. Damon helped me putting some stuff away," she answered, nodding her head towards the stairs. "Hey, Caroline, I didn't know you were coming over." She couldn't hide the slight tone of accusation she had to her voice.

However, that seemed to do the trick and get her friend out of her state of shock. "Oh... yeah, I just wanted to drop by... you know?" Her eyes didn't leave the obvious reason for her impromptu visit.

Elena couldn't help but to laugh at that. "Yeah, I'm sure you did." She walked over to her newly self-appointed fosterling, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Damon, this is my friend, Caroline," she told him in a calm voice. "Care, this is Damon."

The Blonde took in the scene before her. How protective Elena was of that little guy and how in tune he seemed to be of her very being. You could hardly tell that they had only known each other for about a day. It looked like he already was the moth to her flame. _How ironic..._

"Oh, he _is_ Damon, alright," she chuckled, causing Elena to frown a little.

The little guy watched their exchange with equal confusion, trying to figure out the dynamics between this new visitor and the people he had encountered so far. He was still confused by some of their mannerisms. There greetings and behavior towards each other weren't always as polite or formal as he had been taught, yet they seemed to be rather friendly towards each other. He didn't always understand what was going on around him. The adults often spoke in hushed voices and sometimes he didn't really understand their dialogs anyway. As it was common with children who listened to a conversation carried on by their elders, some of the words and the context they were used in by far transcended his horizon and knowledge. And some of their phrasings were – frankly – just completely strange.

He had gotten used to some of it though. So far nobody seemed to be really put out by his unexpected presence in their home and so he decided to – at least try to – believe in their good nature and best intentions towards him. Until now none of them had given him a reason to assume anything else. Lena was the one he felt most comfortable around. She had been nothing but kind and accommodating towards him right from the moment she found him in the rain. She wasn't the least bit hesitant to invite him in her home, despite his drenched clothing, his inability to answer her questions and his uncertain origin. For some reason he felt safe and cared for by her very presence. He trusted her.

Stefan and Damon had been a different story, at first. Their initial reaction to him was what had scared him at the beginning and made him slightly more cautious towards them. But he had already realized these two seemed to be rather trustworthy too. His nightly encounter with Damon had eased his mind towards the strange man a little. Even though they hadn't really talked much he got the distinct and unexplainable feeling that the older Damon seemed to know exactly what to do. He didn't know him for that long and yet he had figured out instantly what had troubled him and how to help him. He was nothing but kind that night and for some reason the little guy had felt strangely comforted by him.

Stefan for one had been playing chess with him for the better half of the morning and while he wasn't as good as his father – who had taught him how to play the game when he was five – he still enjoyed playing with him. He had told him about his little baby brother, whose name was also Stefan surprisingly, and how he planned to teach him how to play the game, and every other game he knew, as soon as he was old enough.

"Father taught me how to play," he had announced proudly after his first victory over his opponent. "He used to play with me on Sunday nights." His little smile had vanished a bit at that. "But lately he is in his study a lot... his work takes up most of his time, he seems to be tired quite often and I do not want to be a bother."  
"I'm sorry about that," Stefan had said and caused little Damon to nod his head in an accepting manner that appeared to be way to grown up for his tender age.

"Well... I promised my mother that I would be a good older brother to little Stefan." And just like that his proud little smile had been back. He had puffed out his chest a little and seemed to be positively glowing, when he announced: "I will be the best. I will teach him _everything_ he has to know. How to properly hold his cutlery, how to read and how to feed the horses in the stables... and every game I know. And then _we_ can play chess together _every_ Sunday. He just has to grow a little more."

Stefan's eyes had widened in surprise and wonder and at little Damon's inquiring gaze he had said wistfully: "You know, _my_ older brother taught me all these things when I was still a little boy. I'm sure you'll be a great big brother."

And that's how he had slowly started to take to both of the strange Salvatores.

Now he looked up at the blonde girl and contemplated what to do. So far, none of the people Lena had introduced him too had been straight-out unfriendly or mean, despite the initial reaction of shock and disbelief he felt himself getting used to already. He didn't really understand it but he just tried to be on his best behavior and make them see that he wouldn't be any trouble. He was brought up to be a polite little gentlemen after all.

He took a step towards the woman named Caroline – albeit unwilling to leave the comfort of Lena's close proximity – and took a little bow before reaching out his hand, waiting for her to take it.  
"It's nice to meet you, Ma'am."

Caroline looked at the little guy with huge surprised eyes, unable to hide her smile. "Why... how do you do, kind Sir?" she said in her best impression of a southern belle, causing a blush to rise on little Damon's cheeks.

"Care," Elena couldn't help but to laugh as well, "stop embarrassing him."

"Well, he really is quite the little Gentlemen." His blush got even darker but one could tell without a doubt that he was secretly pleased with the compliment. "Are you sure he actually is... _related_ to the older Damon?" Caroline asked with a little snort, carefully phrasing her question. "But then, of course ... the older version can be quite the charmer, too, if he wants to." And then, more quietly, so that the little boy wouldn't hear she added. "And if he expects to get something out of it."

Elena chose to ignore her friends last comment, knowing all too well what she was talking about. Because of what happened between Caroline and Damon – how he had preyed on and straight out used her while he was still on a mission to find Katherine and get revenge on Stefan – they would probably never be best friends. Caroline wasn't one to hold a grudge but it was also not in her nature to just forgive and forget such a major transgression.

However, over their battle with Klaus, both of them had developed at least a mutual respect for each other. Damon knew that – when worst came to worst – he could count on the blonde to keep Elena safe. Caroline knew how to recognize a man in love when she saw one and how to value the actions he took to – albeit maybe unconsciously – redeem himself in Elena's eyes. And she also started to understand the battle one could fight with his own humanity.

Well... and Elena knew, even if he would never admit it to himself, much less anybody else, that Damon did feel sorry for what he did to Caroline; at least to some extent.

"So, Care," Elena interrupted the brief moment of silence that had unfolded between them. "I know we made plans to go shopping with Bonnie tomorrow, but would you mind if I take a rain check? Damon here has been cooped up in this house since I brought him here yesterday and I wanted to take him out and around town for a bit."

Caroline didn't even get to answer, before she got interrupted by little Damon's excited voice. "Really?" Is eyes were practically sparkling and Elena couldn't help but smile at him. This hadn't been the first time he reacted to something that seemed like no big deal to her like she had just promised to give him the world. His childlike curiosity and eagerness to experience everything was more than endearing.

"Only if you want to, of course," Elena replied with a little chuckle.

"_Of course_ I want do!" He blushed at his own exuberance. "I mean... I would love to accompany you to town, if it is no trouble to you, dear Lena."

"I couldn't wish for better company," she said. Then she turned to Caroline again. "So, about that rain check?"

"That's all right. This morning Bonnie didn't seem to be up for a big shopping trip to Richmond either. I bet I still have something in my closet that will do for Graduation."

"Thanks, Care. You're the best."

"And don't I know it." The blonde smiled. "I have one condition, though."

"Sure, what is it?"

Caroline put on her best sheepish expression, looking just like a girl of little Damon's age would. "Can I come, too?"

Elena turned to the small boy. "Well... what do you say?"

For a moment he looked a little surprised at her question but eventually he shrugged slightly and turned to Caroline. "Sure. You can come."

"Thank you!"

They started talking about where to meet Caroline the next day and what they would do first. It wasn't like there was much to do in Mystic Falls, but they still thought that he should probably get to know the town as well as he could, since they didn't know how long he would be staying with them. Caroline suggested taking him to a few places that would be similar to the way the town looked in his own time, so it would be a little easier for him to take everything in. Elena was still a little worried about how he would react to the _'modern world'_. However, Damon had promised her that he would have his talk with little Damon this evening and she trusted him to take care of it. She tried to, at least.

While the two girls were busy planning their little sightseeing trip Damon's gaze kept darting back and forth between them, much like he was watching a tennis match. He seemed to be more than eager for the next day.

"So", Stefan piped in after a while, "did you see Bonnie this morning, Caroline? I think you mentioned something about it earlier."

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot." The blonde exclaimed. "I wasn't there for long, since she was busy going through every Grimoire she has. But she seemed to be onto something."

"She did?" Elena asked.

"Yeah. She didn't give me any specifics but she thinks she knows how the spell works and how to help you... _solve_ everything. She also mentioned something about the balance of nature and time, however, it was all really vague and in no terms that _I_'d understand. I think she'll let you know as soon as she made sure that her assumptions are correct."

Elena sighed. "I'm just so worried that... I don't know. What if we do something here that... _changes_ things?"

Caroline shrugged. "I can't help you with that, sorry. But Bonnie asked me to tell you not to worry and that – one way or another – everything is going to work out fine."

"I wish I could believe that. It just doesn't really seem like my life, you know? Or Damon's, for that matter."

"Well, you can talk to her yourself when we see her on Saturday. I'm sure she'll have figured something out by then." Caroline started to smile slightly. "As important as all of that is, I think we did enough worrying for the past year. I would not let either of you two spoil our graduation ceremony over this!"

Elena shook her head at her friend. "Care..."

"No, I'm serious," the blonde said. "You can all keep brooding come Sunday. The world isn't going to come to a sudden end just because we take a break for one day."

"Caroline is right, Elena," Stefan interjected. "Believe me, you should enjoy your graduation. Like you told me yesterday, for some of us high school will always be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. One day won't do any harm. And you can probably trust me on that, 'cause if my brother is right, I know a thing or two about brooding."

At that, both Caroline and Elena had to laugh while little Damon's gaze kept flitting back and forth between the three adults confusedly, since he hadn't been able to follow their conversation again.

"Lena", his small voice interrupted their laughter. "What does _brooding_ mean?"

* * *

It was around midnight when the little boy woke up with a start, sweating from fear. His breathing was hectic and labored and it took him a moment to realize that he had been dreaming. For a moment he thought about seeking out his mother. She always took care of him when he had a nightmare. She would make him some warm milk, sit down on his bed and wait patiently until he drank it all and slowly got tired again. Then she would place his little head in her lap and comb her slender fingers through his raven hair, assuring him repeatedly it had just been a _brutto sogno_ – a bad dream – and that he was safe with her. Always.

But that was the problem with his bad dreams recently; they were not just that and he had to realize it over and over again, every night when he woke up from one of his nightmares and noticed that he couldn't go to his mother anymore. She had passed away at the beginning of spring, shortly after little Stefan had been born, and Damon couldn't help but miss her every single day. He still remembered how he had run upstairs to her room that day, having picked the first of the spring flowers she loved so greatly, when he found his father at her bedside, a solemn expression on his face. It didn't take him long to understand what it meant, that the moment he had been scared of for a while had come at last and that he would have to say goodbye to his mother. Forever.

She had smiled for one last time when he had tenderly placed the flower in her long, black hair. And when he had hugged her as tightly as he dared to, burying his tear stained face in her neck, she told him that she loved him, that she would always love him, and that she wanted him to take care of his little brother. The promise he'd made were the last words he ever spoke to her.

That same night he was woken up by the first of many nightmares.

They were almost the same every time. In each one of them he was running through a dark forest, feeling like he was trying to find something or someone and at the same time seemingly running away from something else. He never knew what exactly he was looking for or what was chasing him, the only thing that clearly stood out was the fear. He would get frantic and stumble over protruding roots until; finally, he would see his mother, holding out her arms to him. But when he reached for her, she always disappeared. Sometimes the person he was apparently searching for changed from his mother to his father, or a crying baby Stefan. But the scene remained the same.

Tonight was the first time someone else had appeared in his nightmare. Suddenly his mother's raven black hair had turned a lighter shade of chestnut brown and all at once, it had been Lena's darker eyes he was seeing as well and her hand he was reaching for. And for the first time his fingers made contact. He grabbed her hand and she was pulling him towards herself until all of a sudden the scenery changed again. He watched with a mixture of wonder and foreboding trepidation as is hand became larger and stronger; the hand of a grown up man.

And then his Lena had disappeared.

Slowly he took in his surroundings and started to remember where he was. He was alone in a queen sized bed with fluffy white sheets in one of the many rooms of what Lena and the others seemed to call 'The Boarding House'. His mother wasn't there. But neither were his father or Baby Stefan.

His first instinct was to try and go find Lena. He was almost certain she wouldn't send him away if he told her he'd had a bad dream. Unfortunately, he didn't know which room she was spending the night in and his mother had taught him better than to sneak around in another's home. He thought about the last night when he had walked downstairs just to see if maybe one of the adults was still awake. He had been lucky that time, so he decided there was no harm in trying again.

He took a deep breath, gathering all his bravery, and slowly pushed the soft white sheet off of his legs. Trying to make as little noise as possible he climbed out of his bed and made his way down the hall. For some reason he was holding his breath when he climbed down the flight of stairs as if he was afraid to even just breathe. He could hear is own heartbeat in his ears and with all the stealth he was displaying, he felt like he was on one of the '_hunting adventures_' his father used to take him on in the forest.

When he came closer to the kitchen he could already hear the strange humming sound of the tiny oven. After that, he wasn't even all that surprised when he found the older Damon still awake in the little room, just like he did the night before.

"You're awake again", he blurted out, still too sleepy to watch his manners as closely as he usually did.

The other Damon chuckled slightly. "I seem to have some troubles sleeping, lately," he answered with a strange look in his eyes. Then his face turned serious. "Had a bad dream again?"

Little Damon nodded, just as the the tiny oven stopped its humming and made a loud jingling noise that startled him slightly. The older Damon took out a steaming cup and held it out to him.

"Careful," he warned him. "You better take it by the handle, the mug itself is pretty hot."

For a short moment the little boy just stared at him with surprise. "It's for me?"

"'Course it is."

Slowly he reached out for it, grabbing it by the handle, just like the older one had told him to. "Thank you," he mumbled, staring at the mug pensively. Then he looked up again. "How did you know?"

The other Damon shrugged. "Just a hunch."

He went to sit down on one of the tall stools at the kitchen island, gesturing for his younger version to take a seat opposite of him. The little boy eagerly climbed up, happy at the fact that the elder was willing to keep him company. From what he had witnessed so far, he didn't seem to be all that sociable. He hadn't really seen him talk much to anyone, except for Lena and his brother Stefan. He almost expected him to just wait for him silently, while he finished his milk, so he was mildly surprised when he in fact started talking to him.

"You, uhm..." He started rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, a habit the little boy recognized. "I guess you don't wanna talk about them, do you?", he asked uncomfortably and at the questioning look on young Damon's face clarified: "Those dreams you have."

The kid shook his head looking down at the cup again.

The older Damon nodded understandingly. "I get that. I know how you feel."

For a moment they sat there silently, each of them seemingly deep in their own thoughts. Little Damon hadn't talked to anyone about his troubles, lately. The nursemaid was always busy with baby Stefan and he didn't want to add to her already hard workload with the infant. As for his father, he knew how he was barely able to cope with their beloved mother's death as it was. He locked himself up in his study a lot and the few times the young boy got to see him they merely had what was considered 'polite conversation'. He clearly didn't need the additional burden of his oldest son's grief.

But now he saw a possibility. Someone he could talk to about his sorrows; who was willing, available and – according to his own words – familiar with his loss.

"Will it...," he started tentatively, swallowing the lump that seemed to have appeared in his throat suddenly. "Will it ever get better?"

The older Damon's eyes focused on the child, starring at him pensively for a while. He seemed to be looking for the right words to answer his question, a frown setting on his forehead.

"Yes," he finally answered. "Not right away... not completely. But you're young... and _human_. You still have your whole... _life_ in front of you; and so much time to heal. It's going to get a little bit better every day."

"You think... the dreams will stop in time?"

The elder smiled lightly, encouragingly. "Definitely." Then his expression took on a more serious look again. "You'll never stop missing her though."

The little boy didn't even ask how he knew. He had never mentioned his mothers passing, nor the nature of his dreams. But at this point he had somehow accepted the fact that the older Damon just seemed to _know_ things; a lot of things, more so than adults usually did. He couldn't bring himself to worry about it, though. If anything, it comforted him to some extent.

"I don't want to stop missing her," he admitted softly. "I don't want to forget."

And just like that, the tentative, wistful smile on the other Damon's face was back. "Don't worry. You won't"

* * *

_So... here's more DoubleDamon for you, you guys seem to like that ;)  
Let me know what you think by using that new little review box at the bottom of the page :)_

_Reviews are better than Stefan admitting to being the King of Brooding! :) … and they get you a teaser for Chapter 7._

_**Important AN:** My exams have started and I'm so busy with studying... I'm going crazy. That's why it took me so long to post this one... and why I also won't be able to get another Chapter to you until this time in August. So it's gonna be another month. -.- I'm sorry for the long wait, but I can't help it... I'll be done with Uni at the end of July and I hope I'll be able to write more frequently again then._

_Until then... Thanks for sticking around and bearing with me!_


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